Crystal Palace win first ever European trophy and secure Europa League qualification

Crystal Palace have won their first ever European trophy with a stunning Conference League final victory over Rayo Vallecano.

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s second-half strike proved to be the difference, as the Eagles edged to a 1-0 win over their Spanish opponents at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig.

Getty

Getty

Palace tasted glory in their maiden campaign in Europe, having qualified after their FA Cup success last season.

That was the south Londoners’ first-ever piece of silverware, and 12 months on, they are now celebrating another major trophy.

It marks the perfect send-off for manager Oliver Glasner, with Wednesday night’s final his last game in charge before he departs the club in the summer.

And it was one of Glasner’s key players from his two-year stint who was the match-winner, with Mateta’s 50th-minute strike making the difference.

Crystal Palace 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

Despite an entertaining first-half, the two sides headed in goalless at the break, with Tyrick Mitchell coming close to opening the scoring.

But Palace burst into life at the start of the second half, and found the all-important goal just five minutes after the restart.

Adam Wharton’s long-distance effort was parried by Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla into the path of Mateta, who made no mistake to tap home from close range.

This sparked wild scenes among the Palace players, as the Frenchman charged towards the corner flag to perform his trademark celebration.

And there was pandemonium in the stands, with just over 11,000 Eagles fans inside the ground to enjoy the huge goal.

While Rayo had over forty minutes left to search for an equaliser, it was Palace who looked more likely to score a second.

TNT Sports

Getty

Minutes after taking the lead, Yeremy Pino’s free-kick deflected off both posts before bouncing out to keep the score at 1-0.

But this didn’t matter in the end, as Palace held on to see out the win, sparking huge celebrations as their substitutes rushed onto the pitch at full-time to enjoy the historic occasion.

As well as a first-ever European trophy, also marks a second continental title for Glasner, who guided Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2022.

Palace’s triumph also sees them secure automatic qualification for next season’s Europa League having only finished 15th in the Premier League this season.

Breaking news. More follows…