One Insight from Each Team Following the First Legs of the Conference League Quarter-Finals

7 – Rayo Vallecano kicked off the evening with a convincing 3-0 victory against AEK Athens in Madrid. The Spanish side saw goals from Ilias Akhomach, Unai Lopez, and Isaac Palazon, solidifying their chances of advancing to the semi-finals. After experiencing their first home defeat in the round of 16, Rayo made a strong statement this time, leaving AEK facing an uphill battle.

With this win, Los Franjirrojos have now achieved a clean sheet in European matches at home for the seventh time.

12 – AEK faces the daunting task of needing a massive response in front of their supporters next Thursday, following their heaviest European loss since the 2020/21 season.

Their recent record shows that the last four defeats in European competitions have come by multiple goals—a worrying trend. For the Greeks to triumph, they must defeat a Spanish team for only the third time out of 20 encounters. This marks the 12th occasion Dikefalos has lost to a LaLiga club.

20 – Crystal Palace delivered a strong performance to secure a 3-0 win over Fiorentina at Selhurst Park. A quick brace in the first half set the Eagles on their path, and a late header from Ismaila Sarr in the 90th minute further solidified their position in the tie.

Now, the challenge will be to replicate that performance in Florence next week. Sarr’s goal increased Palace’s total to 20 in this season’s Conference League.

2 – Fiorentina is in grave danger of facing their earliest exit in the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) ever. La Viola will not be returning to the competition next season, and unless they make a deep run this spring, they could find themselves out of European football entirely. On a positive note, they’ve already won three matches in the tournament this season by three goals.

However, all those victories came away from home, and they struggled to worry Palace, managing only two shots on target throughout the match.

10 – Kaishu Sano and Stefan Posch were the scorers for Mainz in their 2-0 win over previously unbeaten Strasbourg. Die Nullfunfer are enjoying their best run in a UEFA club competition and are on the brink of becoming the first Bundesliga team to reach the semi-finals of the Conference League.

Although their performance away from home has been less impressive, they have every reason to be optimistic. Mainz notched their 10th home victory in European football history.

3 – A struggling Strasbourg now confronts serious challenges in the UECL, a situation they’ve not encountered much during their journey to this stage. Le Racing mustered only half the shots of their hosts and had just two attempts on goal.

In their four previous encounters with German teams, Strasbourg has never won by a margin of multiple goals. In fact, they’ve secured victory just once, with the loss to Mainz marking their third defeat in such matchups.

14 – Following a relatively balanced first 70 minutes, Shakhtar Donetsk struck decisively against AZ Alkmaar in the final 20 minutes. The Pitmen, one of only two teams with a UEFA club competition title to their name, triumphed 3-0 in Poland.

Alisson’s quickfire double late in the match places the Ukrainians in a strong position. Despite an underwhelming record against Dutch teams going into this match, Shakhtar has now found the net 14 times against Eredivisie clubs.

5 – True to form, AZ continues to find it difficult on the road in Europe. The Eredivisie side has boasted an impressive home record this season but has displayed inconsistency in away fixtures.

This inconsistency may prove crucial in determining their chances of lifting the trophy at the end of the season. Their odds appear less favourable now, especially considering they overcame a deficit in their other UECL quarter-final three years ago.

Thursday’s loss marked AZ’s fifth of the season, all incurred on their travels. The last time they faced such a tally was during the 2022/23 season, when they reached the semi-finals.