Being a club’s most expensive signing of all time comes with a certain amount of pressure. Some players get up, while others struggle.
For a while, it seemed that Jørgen Strand Larsen was struggling.
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The Norwegian striker joined Crystal Palace from Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 2, in a deal worth up to £48 million. Before Thursday’s semi-final in the Conference League, he had only three goals in 14 games for the Eagles.
But his fourth goal could turn out to be the most important. Because then the 26-year-old showed pure magic and gave Palace a 3-1 lead away to Shakhtar Donetsk in Krakow.
The Norwegian’s journey: From caterpillar to butterfly?
Jørgen Strand Larsen has had an extraordinary journey in recent years. From being a relatively unknown striker in Norwegian Sarpsborg 08, he made the trip via Groningen in the Netherlands and Celta Vigo in Spain before he got his big break in the Premier League. After impressing for Wolverhampton with his physicality, work capacity and increasingly sharp finishing, he was brought to Crystal Palace for a record sum. The transfer to Palace has been demanding, with few minutes and fierce competition from Jean-Philippe Mateta. But against Shakhtar, he finally showed why the club forked out millions.
Much of Jørgen Strand Larsen’s transfer fee of 49.7 million euros was “paid back” last night.
The jump in that changed everything
Substitute Strand Larsen stormed forward after a pass from Daichi Kamada in the 84th minute. He broke into the box, showed ice-cold composure as he rounded a sliding tackle, before elegantly lobbing the ball over the advancing Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk.
The beautiful finish gave Oliver Glasner’s side a two-cup lead before the second leg at Selhurst Park on Thursday 7 May. Now, in all likelihood, they have one foot in the club’s first major European Cup final ever.
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“We weren’t sure if he got the touch on the ball, and that’s exactly what’s so impressive – the composure and the way he puts it into the corner,” said former Tottenham and England midfielder Glenn Hoddle on TNT Sports.
“If it was Harry Kane who had scored that goal, we would all have said ‘wow, what a beautiful goal’.
Strong attacking cooperation
If Strand Larsen takes the momentum and confidence from scoring, Palace have an attack that no other team left in the Conference League can match.
In Jean-Philippe Mateta, they have a striker with 13 goals this season. Ismaila Sarr is the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals – five of them in the playoffs. His last goal, which gave Palace the lead after just 21 seconds against Shakhtar, was the fastest goal in Conference League history.
The competition for places in attack is tough, but everyone seems to be willing to contribute – either from the start or as a substitute.
“I really needed that,” Strand Larsen admitted.
“It’s tough. Two good players (himself and Mateta) fighting for one place, but to come in and score is absolutely fantastic.
“We know the structure of the manager and the team. We had to accept that they are a good team, so we had to be a little deeper today, but we did well on counter-attacks.
“A fantastic group of people, men and personalities”
Through their impressive European Cup performances, Palace have shown that they are not just about individuals, but about a team that steps up when it matters.
Japan midfielder Kamada hadn’t scored since October 2024 before his clinical finish on Thursday restored Palace lead just as Shakhtar looked to take control.
It could be a slightly sad end to the season, as manager Glasner – who led Palace to a fairytale FA Cup triumph last year – is just two games away from European Cup glory before he leaves in the summer. Nevertheless, optimism seems to be high.
“It’s a fantastic group of people, men and personalities,” said Glasner, who himself won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022.
“There is an incredibly good team spirit and a strong community, and we always believe in ourselves.
“There is no button we can press to turn it on. This is something we have built up over months and years – that we know that we can always come back and score goals.
