Crystal Palace secured their first major European trophy with a 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in the UEFA Conference League final in Oliver Glasner’s final game as manager.
Jean-Philippe Mateta‘s goal was decisive as Crystal Palace ended the Oliver Glasner era by lifting the Conference League trophy, beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in Wednesday’s final.
Mateta pounced when Augusto Batalla could only parry Adam Wharton’s shot early in the second half in Leipzig, sending a large contingent of Palace fans into raptures.
The Eagles missed multiple chances to add a second goal and had to survive a somewhat nervy finish, but they held firm to add a first-ever European trophy to last year’s FA Cup triumph.
Palace struggled to carve out clear chances for much of the first half, while Rayo twice went close at the other end. Alemão made a poor connection when he skewed wide from close range, and Unai López planted a side-footed effort just the wrong side of the upright.
Glasner’s men should have gone ahead in stoppage time when a searching cross from Wharton – who was omitted from England’s World Cup squad last week – found Tyrick Mitchell at the back post, but his awkward, diving header flew wide.
However, Palace did not have to wait long to break through in the second half. Wharton advanced towards the edge of the area unchallenged six minutes after the restart, and though his left-footed drive was pushed away by Batalla, it fell at Mateta’s feet for a simple finish.
It should have been 2-0 soon afterwards as Yéremy Pino’s wonderful free-kick bounced between both posts, and Mateta’s follow-up attempt also flicked off the woodwork.
With confidence coursing through Palace, some more enterprising play from Pino created another glorious opening for Mateta, but he scuffed his shot and Batalla turned it wide.
Rayo gained a foothold in the closing stages but were unable to carve out a genuine chance, with Maxence Lacroix and Mitchell coming up with big defensive moments as Dean Henderson faced just one shot on target in the Palace goal.
Crystal Palace 1-0 Rayo Vallecano Stats
Palace Cap Dream European Debut with Mateta the Hero
Palace are the first team to win a trophy in their first campaign in major European competition since 1988, when KV Mechelen won the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Three of the first five editions of the Conference League have now been won by English clubs (also West Ham in 2022-23 and Chelsea in 2024-25) – Palace’s arch-rivals Brighton will attempt to follow in their footsteps in 2026-27.
Palace, meanwhile, will compete in the Europa League after lifting silverware in Glasner’s final game at the helm. The only previous managers to win a major European trophy in their final games in charge of an English club are Keith Burkinshaw at Tottenham (1984 UEFA Cup) and Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea (2019 Europa League).
Coming into the final, Mateta had not scored away from Selhurst Park since last September, when he netted away at West Ham in the Premier League. Each of his last 11 goals in club football had come at Palace’s home ground.
But he picked a great time to end that wait, becoming the first Frenchman to score in a Conference League final and only the third French player to net for an English club in any major European final. Paul Pogba previously did so for Manchester United in 2017, while Olivier Giroud scored for Chelsea in 2019, both in Europa League showpieces.
Mateta Goals in 2025-26 for Crystal Palace
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano stats from their UEFA Conference League final clash at the Red Bull Arena on 27 May 2026.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Crystal Palace 1-0 Rayo Vallecano Post-Match Facts
Crystal Palace are the third English team to win the trophy in their first season in major European competition, after West Ham United (1964-65 Cup Winners Cup) and Newcastle United (1968-69 Fairs Cup).
Crystal Palace won the UEFA Conference League after finishing 15th in this season’s Premier League. It’s the second lowest any team has finished in a season they won a major European trophy, after Tottenham Hotspur last season (finished 17th, won UEFA Europa League).
English clubs have won the UEFA Conference League in three of its five seasons, with all three of those being London clubs (West Ham 2023, Chelsea 2025, Crystal Palace 2026).
Having lost nine consecutive major European finals against Spanish opponents between 2006 and 2022, English sides have now won their last two (Crystal Palace tonight and Chelsea against Real Betis in last season’s UEFA Conference League).
Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta was the third Frenchman to score for an English club in a major European final after Paul Pogba with Man Utd (2017 UEFA Europa League) and Olivier Giroud with Chelsea (2019 UEFA Europa League).
Oliver Glasner is the first manager to win a major European trophy in his final game in charge of a Premier League club since Maurizio Sarri in 2019 (UEFA Europa League with Chelsea).
Enjoy this? Add Opta Analyst as a preferred source by clicking here.
Enjoy this? Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over onX, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.