Crystal Palace won the Conference League in the final in Leipzig against Rayo Vallecano – coach Oliver Glasner says goodbye with a title, his future is open.
With the 1-0 (0-0) win against Rayo Vallecano, Crystal Palace won an international title for the first time. Coach Oliver Glasner, who is leaving the club at the end of the season without a known destination, won his third title with the team after the FA Cup and the English Super Cup (“Community Shield”).
This means Crystal Palace has the right to start in the 2026/27 Europa League. In the current season, Palace actually qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup in England, but was demoted to the Conference League because of the multiple stakes for its owners and because of a missed deadline. At that time, Palace protested against UEFA’s decision, now the club is celebrating a European Cup victory after the demotion.
Best chance of the first half in stoppage time
Palace started a little stronger in front of 39,176 fans in Leipzig. Then Rayo Vallecano from Madrid’s Vallecas district got better and had two good shots from Alexandre Alemao (25′) and Unai López (39′), but both shots went just wide of the goal. Overall, there were few scoring scenes, both teams defended passionately.
Duel in the final between Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano
Palace had the best chance of the first half when Adam Wharton crossed from the right and Tyrick Mitchell headed in at the back post – but the ball also went just past the goal to the right (45th + 2).
Palace puts pressure on, Mateta dusts off
After the restart, Crystal Palace took more and more control and took the lead. Wharton tried a long-range shot that Rayo’s goalkeeper Batalla high-fived – Jean-Philippe Mateta took the lead (51′).
Jean-Philippe Mateta and Daniel Munoz celebrate Crystal Palace’s lead
The team from south London now had the best chance: a free kick from Yeremy Pino hit the left post, from where the ball bounced onto the right post (55th). Pino once again put Mateta in the spotlight, this time goalkeeper Batalla saved (57′). Palace were in full control of the final after an hour. But the lead remained narrow and Rayo stayed in the game: de Frutos hit the side netting (68th).
In the final phase, Rayo Vallecano increased the pressure again, but were unable to score. Alemao got a shot in stoppage time – but here too the accuracy was lacking.
Glasner’s departure has been clear since January, but his goal is not
He made it public in January that Oliver Glasner was leaving the club. At the time, Palace was in deep crisis. There were nine games without a win at the time, and Palace were also eliminated from the FA Cup as defending champions against sixth division club FC Macclesfield.
Palace coach Oliver Glasner
The former coach of VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, with whom he won the Europa League in 2022, took over Palace in February 2024. Recently, the Austrian has been linked several times with clubs from Italy and England. Nothing is yet publicly known about Glasner’s future.
Player Adam Wharton said of Glasner after the game: “He made an incredible difference in two and a half years. Three trophies for Crystal Palace – the first three in the club’s history. That’s unbelievable. He has to be one of the best managers Palace have ever had.”
Illegal betting provider: Crystal Palace without a jersey sponsor in Leipzig
Palace played in Leipzig without their shirt sponsor. The club has usually been advertising for a betting provider from Vietnam since 2024. In Germany, according to the State Treaty on Gambling, advertising is only permitted for approved providers who are sponsors of the Premier League club according to the list of the General Gambling Authority of the states not to that. An AI company will be the new jersey sponsor for the coming season.
Instead, Crystal Palace promoted the club’s own foundation. Aston Villa also advertised its foundation at the Europa League final in Istanbul against SC Freiburg because advertising for private gaming providers is generally prohibited in Turkey.
Daniel Munoz of Crystal Palace
Conflicts between fans on Wednesday evening
There were clashes between some fans of both teams in Leipzig on Wednesday evening. According to their own information, the police carried out around 300 identity checks and issued expulsions. According to the information, there were two arrests.
The fans threw bottles, beer glasses and bar furniture at each other. However, the fan festival, which at its peak had around 2,000 visitors on the site in the market area, was “completely peaceful”.
