For Crystal Palace, the success continued a remarkable spell in their history as they eye a third trophy in what would be just over 12 months.
After beating Manchester City 1-0 to win the FA Cup for the first time, that achievement should have earned the Eagles a place in the Europa League.
However, that was taken away from them as they were punished by Uefa for breaching multi-club ownership rules.
Palace were unsuccessful in their appeal, with Nottingham Forest getting their Europa League spot, while Oliver Glasner’s side dropped into the third-tier Conference League, where they have grown to show their quality.
After edging past Norwegian side Fredrikstad 1-0 on aggregate in the play-offs, Palace finished 10th in the league phase to advance into the knockout stages and now have a first European final to look forward to.
Palace had done most of the hard work with their win in Krakow last week, but Glasner will be delighted by his side's approach in the return against dangerous opponents.
Shakhtar are on the verge of winning the Ukrainian Premier League and earning a spot in the qualifying rounds for the Champions League. Yet they were again second best to a disciplined Palace side who thoroughly deserved their victory.
Indeed, the winning margin could have been greater as they created other good opportunities.
With Palace also beating last season's league champions Liverpool to win the Community Shield in August, Glasner was already the club's most successful manager.
Yet it has been a turbulent season for him and the club.
The Austrian announced in January he would leave at the end of the season when his contract expires and Palace fell to an embarrassing FA Cup third-round loss to sixth-tier Macclesfield. They also lost captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City, while Mateta expressed a desire to leave too and only a failed medical prevented a move to AC Milan.
But despite the chaos on and off the field, Glasner's last game in charge will now be the Conference League final.
Palace fans, who created a superb atmosphere throughout the match, revelled in the occasion as they chanted "que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, we're going to Germany".
Indeed they will be, as they have another chance to end the campaign with a trophy.
