Aiman KhalidMay 27, 2026, 05:34 PM ET

LEIPZIG, Germany -- Twelve months after delivering Crystal Palace their greatest day by winning the FA Cup at Wembley, Oliver Glasner did it all over again in Leipzig.

A Jean-Philippe Mateta tap-in was all it took for Palace to overcome Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final on Wednesday night and secure their first-ever European trophy in their debut campaign on the continent.

The flares were out from both sets of supporters before we even got to kick off. The biggest occasion in Palace's and Vallecano's history was treated as such by the 11,000 plus in both ends as they got underway at the Red Bull Arena amid a cloud of smoke.

But by the break there was no attempt on target with a Tyrick Mitchell diving header before the whistle going just wide the only chance of note. It was the first major European final in 16 years not to have a shot on target in the first 45.

Palace wasted no time after the break. An Adam Wharton shot from distance could only be parried away into the path of Mateta who tucked home to initiate bedlam in the Palace end in Leipzig. The flares were out again.

From there, it was all Palace. They should really have doubled their lead but in the end saw the game home with a relative level of comfort on a historic night for the club and the perfect parting gift from Glasner.

The result also saw London's dominance in this competition continue. Three out of five Conference League trophies have been won by sides in the English capital with Chelsea, West Ham and now Palace all calling themselves European champions.

Even Hollywood would struggle to write a comeback script like the one Mateta has lived this season.

Starting the campaign in his usual goal-scoring form, it all threatened to fall apart for the Frenchman as he pushed for a move to AC Milan in January, a move that only fell through courtesy of a failed medical because of a knee issue that has plagued him at times this term.

The Palace faithful only just forgave him. Surely, they've forgotten now.

His first goal for Palace away from Selhurst Park since September 2025 and what better time to tap home.

It was also his first career goal in a senior final, 16th of the season and third in the Conference League. Didier Deschamps will be taking note as the forward gets ready to jet off with France to the World Cup.

Outside of his goal though Mateta was a problem for the Rayo defence all night, using his massive frame and far superior strength, his hold up play was excellent while he was always an option for Wharton running the channels. A vintage centre-forward showing.

The conductor of everything Palace did on Wednesday night and the architect of their long-ball ploy to combat Rayo's feared press was Wharton.

A week after being snubbed by Thomas Tuchel and left out of England's World Cup squad, he served up a reminder of just why he is known as the "Wilpshire Pirlo."

He had Palace's most touches (50) and created their most chances (two) while his 10 progressive passes were the most in the game.

He is arguably England's best player at receiving the ball on the half-turn and whipping up a line-breaking pass with all too much ease. Now Europe knows all about his talents too.

Rayo's high-intensity, almost gegenpress-esque style is much talked about in Spain and Wharton was Palace's answer to it with a series of exquisite balls over the top rendering Rayo's running helpless.

It was his drive from deep and shot on goal that presented Mateta with the tap-in he so gleefully accepted.

There has been talk of a move for Wharton this summer but with a Europa League campaign now in store for next season, surely he has "one more year" left at Selhurst Park. They were the exact words his own mother was singing amongst the Palace fans in Leipzig.

Lifting a second major trophy at a club who were famous for never getting near one when he took charge, Palace's greatest ever manager was afforded a goodbye befitting of his legacy in Leipzig.

After announcing his plans to exit the club this summer in January, Palace's sole focus has been on this competition with their last league win coming in early April amid a faltering end to the domestic campaign and a period of bitterness towards Glasner himself.

But as the whistle blew and jubilation overtook the 11,372 in south London red and blue, none of that mattered.

Glasner spoke of wanting the perfect ending tonight and his players delivered for him one final time.

Setting up Palace to combat Rayo's all-action style that has seen them create chances for fun this season, he limited them to just three shots on target, with none of them really troubling Dean Henderson.

Wharton and Daichi Kamada controlled the game from the middle of the park while sticking with Chadi Riad, rather than starting a still-recovering Chris Richards simply because of the enormity of the occasion, looks a masterstroke, with the Moroccan the pick of the back three..

It was the perfect final plan from the perfect knockout manager.

"When you watch a movie, when you read a book, you always hope that there is a happy ending," Glasner said ahead of the final.

With a wage bill a fifth the size of that of Crystal Palace and a stadium and training facilities that are often falling apart, Rayo's journey to a debut European final in itself is a story for the ages.

Their supporters were out in numbers in Leipzig the days leading up to the final with many never witnessing the side reach an occasion at all comparable to the one their side were a part of on Wednesday.

Iñigo Pérez's team didn't have enough on the night but they have been treated to a season they never thought they would get to see with their debut European campaign stretching all the way to the showpiece event, an achievement not to be scoffed at.

They have consistently overachieved domestically and under Pérez it might not be long before they find themselves back on a miraculous European tour.

- Crystal Palace are the first team since KV Mechelen won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1987-88 to lift a trophy in their first season in Europe.

- English clubs have won three of the five UEFA Conference League Finals, including the last two.

- Mateta (16) and Ismaïla Sarr (21) have combined to score 49% of Crystal Palace's goals in all competitions this season.

- Crystal Palace had won one of their last seven games in which they went into halftime with scores level (1-5-1 W-D-L)

Source: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48894308/crystal-palace-1-0-rayo-vallecano-eagles-soar-historic-conference-league-win