Last night in Leipzig, in front of a packed Red Bull Arena, Crystal Palace Football Club won a European trophy for the first time in their 120-year history. And they did it in the most Oliver Glasner way imaginable — grinding, organised, and settled by one decisive moment of quality.
The final
Jean-Philippe Mateta fired Palace to a historic milestone as they defeated Rayo Vallecano 1-0 to lift the Conference League trophy. The French striker reacted quickest in the second half, turning home a rebounded close-range winner after Adam Wharton’s initial strike was parried at the Red Bull Arena.
Both sides struggled to create much of anything in the first half — neither had a shot on target in the opening 30 minutes of a tightly contested game. Rayo Vallecano, under the impressive Iñigo Pérez, were worthy opponents and made Palace work for every inch. But when the chance came, Mateta took it — and that was enough.
Winning the Conference League not only added a second major honour to the club’s trophy cabinet, it also secured Crystal Palace’s place in the Europa League next season — meaning south London will host European football at Selhurst Park for the second consecutive year.
What Steve Parish said
Chairman Steve Parish hailed the club’s monumental achievement after the final whistle, saying Palace had “gone up a level and want to stay there.” After years of fighting mid-table Premier League battles, Crystal Palace are now a club with European pedigree and consecutive seasons of continental football. The transformation is extraordinary.
The Oliver Glasner story
This is the part that makes last night genuinely emotional — because it is also a goodbye.
The triumph marks the third piece of silverware in a remarkable two-and-a-half-year tenure for outgoing manager Oliver Glasner, who previously guided the club to FA Cup glory — Crystal Palace’s first ever major trophy — and the Community Shield. He confirmed back in January that he would leave at the end of the season, and last night’s final was his last act in charge.
The journey has not been without turbulence. Glasner clashed publicly with the club’s hierarchy over the sales of Eberechi Eze to Arsenal and Marc Guehi to Manchester City, and at one point fans held up banners calling for his removal. He responded with characteristic directness: “We had the best two years in Crystal Palace’s history and then it’s not so easy for a club to say ‘Hey, it’s better you leave’.”
He was right. When Glasner arrived at Selhurst Park in 2024, Palace were in crisis — their worst start to a season since 1992-93, failing to win in the Premier League until their ninth game. What followed was the FA Cup, European football, the Community Shield, and now a continental trophy.
As Palace celebrated at Wembley after the FA Cup win last season, Parish said: “That’s what Oliver Glasner’s done — he made us all believe.” Last night in Leipzig, that belief produced its finest chapter yet.
What it means for Crystal Palace
Three trophies. Two European campaigns. A Europa League place already secured for 2026-27. For a club that spent decades as Premier League also-rans with no silverware to speak of, this is a seismic shift in identity.
Crystal Palace are now the ninth Premier League club competing in Europe next season — and they’ll arrive in the Europa League not as curious guests, but as Conference League champions with the confidence of a side that has learned how to win on the big occasions.
The new manager — whoever that turns out to be — inherits something genuinely special. Oliver Glasner built it, believed in it when few others did, and signed off with a European trophy.
Glad all over, indeed.