Europa Conference League Shockwaves: Palace Progress, De Gea Howler and Forest’s Setback Reshape the Knockout Picture

The immediate winners and losers from midweek’s European fixtures are already feeling the effects: supporters and managers will see fixture congestion, squad strain and strategic trade-offs up close as domestic schedules collide with continental ambitions. Europa Conference League night in particular shifted momentum—Crystal Palace advanced while a goalkeeper error threatened to undo Fiorentina, and outcomes in the Europa League left Nottingham Forest assessing rotation choices.

Who feels it first — Europa Conference League fallout for clubs and managers

Here’s the part that matters: Palace’s progression and the high-profile errors elsewhere change who must prioritise recovery, rotation and recruitment over the coming days. Crystal Palace’s run deepens a packed calendar for a small squad; Fiorentina must address goalkeeping concentration after a howler that almost altered a tie; managers at clubs involved in both competitions now face immediate selection decisions ahead of looming domestic fixtures.

Match outcomes that moved the needle

• Nottingham Forest 1-2 Fenerbahce (4-2 aggregate) — Akturkoglu scored twice to give Fenerbahce hope before Hudson-Odoi made the tie safe.
• Crystal Palace 2-0 Zrinjski (3-1 aggregate) — Maxence Lacroix opened with a header in the 36th minute after an Adam Wharton free-kick delivery; Evann Guessand sealed the win with a hard, low strike in the second minute of stoppage time. Palace had drawn 1-1 in last week’s away leg in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• Fiorentina nearly paid the price of a defensive error: David de Gea committed a howler that almost cost his side during an "incredible" Conference League tie against Jagiellonia Bialystok.
• Celtic go out despite a historic win in Stuttgart.

Details that matter for Palace and their run

Crystal Palace are competing in their first season of European football after winning the FA Cup in 2024-25. The Selhurst Park second leg completed a 3-1 aggregate victory following last week’s draw in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Palace will now face either Mainz or Larnaca over two legs, with the first game at Selhurst Park on Thursday, 12 March, and the away match a week later. That win was Palace’s 43rd of the season so far; there are a further 11 matches in the Premier League and a potential seven in the Conference League, a strain the club’s small squad has already felt.

Coach reactions and post-match lines

Martin Keown, a former Arsenal defender, offered sharp analysis of the decisions on the pitch, noting decisive managerial actions and the importance of standards and momentum. Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira explained he changed half the team to recover players for an important game in three days, accepted responsibility for those choices, and described the difficulty of making multiple substitutions at once. Pereira also reflected that conceding early dented confidence, that Fenerbahce came to fight, and that shifting five players creates uncertainty; ultimately he said the team controlled the second half and should move forward. Andy Reid, the former Spurs midfielder, also contributed commentary in the aftermath.

• Maxence Lacroix’s 36th-minute header came from a five-yard finish following an Adam Wharton delivery from a free-kick close to the left touchline.
• Evann Guessand had an earlier effort saved and later converted in stoppage time to seal the tie.
• Eberechi Eze has joined Arsenal; captain Marc Guehi nearly moved to Liverpool but that deal collapsed because Palace could not find a replacement.

Immediate schedule and procedural notes

The draw for the last 16 starts at 12: 00 GMT tomorrow. Clubs progressing from these ties will learn their next opponents then; Palace’s confirmed contingency is a tie with either Mainz or Larnaca, with the home leg on Thursday, 12 March and the away leg a week later. That's all from us on this round of fixtures.

• Key takeaways:

• Palace’s progression intensifies match congestion for a small squad and raises selection pressure for upcoming Premier League fixtures.
• Nottingham Forest’s rotation strategy — changing half the team — invited scrutiny and forced a defensive reset after conceding.
• A goalkeeper error in Fiorentina’s match is a reminder that single moments can swing knockout ties and demand urgent attention to concentration and coaching.
• The draw at 12: 00 GMT tomorrow will crystallise travel and recovery windows, influencing short-term planning for several clubs.

The real question now is whether clubs with thin squads will prioritise domestic stability or a deeper European run; upcoming selection choices will reveal intentions. It’s easy to overlook, but single-game errors and rotation gambits at this stage have outsized consequences for momentum and morale.

What’s easy to miss is how a stoppage-time strike and a single goalkeeping mistake can reframe an entire campaign; managers will feel that when they set training and rest plans for the days ahead.

Authors of the live updates and coverage include Gary Rose, Keifer MacDonald and Steve Sutcliffe.