On Thursday, the Conference League determined all the teams that advanced to the knockout stage of the tournament in a day that highlighted the qualifications of Crystal Palace (England), Fiorentina (Italy), and AZ (Netherlands).
In Italy, Fiorentina, who have had a poor run in Serie A, unexpectedly struggled to secure their passage to the next round after a 3-0 thrashing against Jagiellonia in the first leg. With three goals from Bartosz Mazurek in the 23rd and 48th minutes of the first half and the 4th minute of the second, the Poles took the game to extra time, making the hearts of all 'La Viola' fans at the Artemio Franchi stadium skip a beat. Nevertheless, goals from Nicolò Fagioli and an own goal by Taras Romanchuk narrowed the deficit, and the hosts regained the lead in the overall score, which ended 5-4 in favor of the side coached by Paolo Vanoli thanks to a late goal from Jesús Imaz in the 13th minute of the second half of extra time.
In England, Crystal Palace showed more determination to clinch a spot in the round of 16 after the 1-1 draw in the first leg, and they secured a 2-0 victory over Zrinjski through goals from Maxence Lacroix in the 36th minute of the first half and Evann Guessand in the 48th minute of the second half.
Meanwhile, AZ of the Netherlands left no room for doubt despite their 1-0 loss in the first leg to Noah, as they claimed a resounding 4-0 victory in the second leg (4-1 aggregate) to seal their place in the next round.
Additionally, in other matches of the day: HNK Rijeka 3 – 1 Omonia; NK Celje 3 – 2 Drita; Samsunspor 4 – 0 KF Shkendija; Lusanne-Sport 1 – 2 Sigma Olomouc; Lech Poznan 1 – 0 KuPS, as reported by the Argentine News Agency.
