Crystal Palace easily wins, Fiorentina surprisingly defeated in the Conference League

Crystal Palace comfortably secured a victory over AZ Alkmaar while Fiorentina suffered a comeback loss to Mainz.

Crystal Palace claimed a convincing 3-1 win against AZ Alkmaar in a match featuring multiple VAR interventions. The first half saw Crystal Palace dominate, despite missing a penalty (saved) and hitting the crossbar with a shot.

In the 17th minute, Crystal Palace was awarded a penalty butJean-Philippe Matetafailed to beat the opposing goalkeeper. Five minutes later, the English side took the lead when Maxence Lacroix scored. Initially, the goal was ruled offside but VAR reviewed and confirmed it.

Near the end of the first half, Crystal Palace scored again but the goal was disallowed; however, VAR intervened once more and the goal byIsmaila Sarrwas allowed. Early in the second half, AZ Alkmaar reduced the deficit to 2-1 before Ismaila Sarr completed his brace to seal a 3-1 victory.

In another notable match, the clash between Mainz and Fiorentina was intense and ended with a narrow 2-1 win for the home team Mainz. Fiorentina started better and took an early 1-0 lead in the 16th minute. Simon Sohm capitalized on a simple cross from Roberto Piccoli to place a precise shot into the lower right corner of the goal.

In the second half, Mainz made substitutions and increased their attacking pressure. In the 68th minute, Benedict Hollerbach received a pass from Jae-Sung Lee inside the box and quickly fired into the lower left corner to equalize at 1-1.

Later, Moise Kean (Fiorentina) had a header chance in the 78th minute but the ball went wide, and a goal was disallowed by VAR in the 82nd minute for offside. The decisive moment came in stoppage time at 90+5 minutes, when Jae-Sung Lee met a lob from Kaishu Sano and easily headed the ball down into the net, securing a dramatic 2-1 win for Mainz.