PARIS, April 17 -- Crystal Palace went down to a 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina yesterday but nonetheless progressed 4-2 on aggregate to the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League, where they will meet Shakhtar Donetsk.

On the other side of the draw, Strasbourg pulled off a fine comeback to book their spot in the last four against Rayo Vallecano.

In Florence, Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring for Palace, before Albert Gudmundsson and Cher Ndour struck to give the Italian side hope.

It was a difficult night for Oliver Glasner's side as a first defeat in six matches in all competitions was compounded by key men Adam Wharton and Maxence Lacroix both being forced off with knocks in the first half.

But most importantly the English club sti...