Crystal Palace won the Conference League, in front of Andrei Rațiu! The Romanian was close to scoring in the second half

Oliver Glasner otherwise brought the third trophy to Crystal Palace's showcase in his last game on the Eagles' bench. Previously, the Austrian coach led the London team to the first trophy in history, the FA Cup, to which the FA Super Cup was added.

The final in Leipzig, which represented the last game for Oliver Glasner on the bench of Crystal Palace, but also of Inigo Perez on the bench of Rayo Vallecano, started timidly.

The English controlled possession in the early part of the game, but the first big chance belonged to Rayo Vallecano in the 25th minute. Chavarria sent a cross into the box from the left flank, and Alemao got away from Riad very well and sent a powerful shot, but the ball went wide of the goal defended by Dean Henderson.

The second important chance of the match also belonged to the Spaniards. Andrei Rațiu engaged De Frutos on the right flank, and the midfielder found Garcia with a pass in the box, who perfectly placed the ball to Unai Lopez for a shot from the edge of the box, but the “counter-foot” shot, which surprised Dean Henderson, went just wide.

The first important chance of the “eagles” came only in the extra time of the first half. Adam Wharton sent an ideal cross into the box, but Tyrick Mitchell mistimed his first-time header wide of Batalla's goal. In the end, the first half ended without a single shot on goal.

Oliver Glasner “woke up” his students at recess

Oliver Glasner's experience compared to that of his counterpart on the Spanish bench spoke volumes in the second half. The Austrian technician, who already had a European trophy on his CV (Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022), set up his students better at half-time and Palace quickly took the lead.

In the 51st minute, Adam Wharton sent a powerful shot from the edge of the box and Batella intervened, but deflected the ball right at the feet of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who completed a simple formality and opened the scoring for the London side.

The “Vultures” continued their siege at Rayo's goal, and Yeremi Pino was the author of a superb phase. The Spanish striker took a free kick from about 25 meters, the ball first hit the left post, then hit the right post, and the move was stopped by “central” Maurizio Mariani after the ball was played by Riyad, who was in an offside position.

In the 64th minute, Crystal Palace had another chance to double their advantage, but Ismaila Sarr's powerful shot from inside the box went into the side netting.

Andrei Rațiu, close to the equalizing goal

Rayo Vallecano took control of the ball, but Inigo Perez's formation was not very inspired and the better chances belonged to the Londoners, who tried to strike on the counter-attack.

The Iberians managed to bring danger in the Palace box only in the 78th minute, through Andrei Rațiu. The Romanian defender took advantage of Mitchell's error, took the ball, after which he entered the box, dribbled superbly on Riad, but Dean Henderson came out of the goal inspired and blocked Rațiu in time.

Final » Crystal Palace – Rayo Vallecano 1-0

• Click HERE for statistics

• He scored: Mateta (51)

• The match was stopped for 5 minutes at the end of the first half due to a supporter needing medical attention.

• 39,176 fans attend this match

Crystal Palace – Rayo Vallecano, the starting teams

Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Henderson (capt.) – Riad, Lacroix, Convot – Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell – I. Sarr, Mateta, Pino
reserves: Matthews, Benitez, Lerma, Johnson, Clyne, Hughes, Strand Larsen, Sosa, Richards, Guessand, Devenny, Cardines
Coach: Oliver Glasner

Rayo Vallecano (4-2-3-1): Batalla – Rațiu, Lejeune, Ciss, Chavarria – O. Valentin (capt.), U. Lopez – De Frutoz, Isi Palazon, A. Garcia – Alemao
reserves: Cardenas, Molina, Diaz, Trejo, Camello, Akhomach, Gumbau, Balliu, Espino, Mendy
Coach: Inigo Perez

Referee: Maurizio Mariani
Stadium: Red Bull Arena (Leipzig)