One stat from each side after the Conference League quarter-final first legs
7 - Rayo Vallecano kicked off the evening with a convincing 3-0 victory over AEK Athens in Madrid. The goals came from Ilias Akhomach, Unai Lopez, and Isaac Palazon for the Spanish outfit, putting them in a solid position to reach the semi-finals. Having experienced their inaugural home loss in the round of 16 previously, Rayo approached this match with full seriousness, presenting AEK with a steep challenge ahead.
This victory represents the seventh instance where Los Franjirrojos managed a shutout in a European home fixture.
12 - AEK faces a demanding task in their home fixture next Thursday, following their most substantial continental loss since the 2020/21 campaign.
Their previous four European defeats have all involved multiple goals, a trend that offers little optimism. For the Greeks to turn things around, they would need to overcome a Spanish team for merely the third occasion across 20 encounters. Dikefalos has now been beaten by a LaLiga club on 12 occasions.
20 - Crystal Palace delivered an impressive performance to defeat Fiorentina 3-0 at Selhurst Park. A quick burst of two goals within seven minutes in the opening half set the Eagles on course, with Ismaila Sarr adding a late header in the 90th minute to bolster their lead in the tie.
The focus now shifts to replicating this effort in Florence in a weeks time. That final goal from Sarr elevated Palace's total to 20 in the Conference League for the season.
2 - Fiorentina risk an unprecedented early departure from the UECL. With La Viola missing out on next seasons edition, failure to go deep this spring means no European involvement whatsoever. On a brighter note, they have secured three tournament wins this year by three-goal margins.
All those victories occurred away from home, however. The Italian side struggled to threaten Palace, managing only two efforts on target during the game.
10 - Mainz secured a 2-0 win against the hitherto undefeated Strasbourg thanks to strikes from Kaishu Sano and Stefan Posch. Building on their finest sequence in a UEFA club event, Die Nullfunfer stand close to becoming the inaugural Bundesliga team in the Conference League semi-finals.
Although their away form has been less impressive, they have grounds for confidence in defending the result. This triumph marks Mainz's 10th home victory in European competition history.
3 - Strasbourg, appearing off pace, now confront significant hurdles in the UECL, a novelty during their path to this phase. Le Racing registered half as many shots as the hosts and only two on target.
In encounters with German clubs numbering four, Strasbourg have yet to win by more than one goal. Indeed, they have triumphed just once, this Mainz setback being their third loss in such fixtures.
14 - Following a balanced opening 70 minutes, Shakhtar Donetsk struck in the closing 20 to dominate AZ Alkmaar. The Pitmen, among the remaining teams with a UEFA club title to their name, prevailed 3-0 in Poland.
A brace from Alisson within two minutes late on positions the Ukrainians favourably. Despite entering with a weak record against Dutch opposition, Shakhtar have now netted 14 goals versus Eredivisie outfits.
5 - True to form, AZ faltered away in Europe once more. The Eredivisie contenders boast an almost perfect home record this season, yet their outings on the road have been erratic.
This inconsistency could prove pivotal in their pursuit of the trophy by campaigns end. Prospects appear dimmer now, although they did rally from behind in their prior UECL quarter-final three years back.
The defeat on Thursday constitutes AZ's fifth of the season, every one occurring away. They last hit that mark in the 2022/23 term when advancing to the final four.