LEIPZIG, Germany (AP) — Crystal Palace didn’t want to be in the third-tier Conference League and Jean-Philippe Mateta nearly left the club. On Wednesday, it was Mateta’s goal that won Palace the title.
A season which began with pleas to play in a higher competition ended with Palace’s first-ever European trophy as Mateta’s goal lifted his team to a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in the final.
The French forward, who was close to leaving in January before a transfer collapsed, scored on a rebound in the 51st minute after Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla parried Adam Wharton’s long-range shot.
“I feel fantastic! ... First time in Europe, we did it! Now I just want to celebrate, I just want to party," Mateta told TNT Sports. “It’s incredible. We did everything. I told you about the intensity we’re going to put. I’m tired right now. I gave everything.”
Along with giving outgoing coach Oliver Glasner the perfect send-off, Palace's win, which came in its first season playing in Europe, keeps English teams on track for a sweep of the three main European men’s club competitions.
Aston Villa won the Europa League last week and Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday.
From appeals to celebrations
It was a triumphant end to a season which began with Palace in court appealing in vain against being demoted from the second-tier Europa League, the competition it had originally qualified for by winning the FA Cup, in a dispute over ownership rules. Palace fans spent the season chanting against UEFA and getting fined for it.
Mateta said of the traveling Palace fans at Red Bull Arena: "I’m always with them. They support me as a player a lot, and as a team. They’re always behind us and we did that for them too.”
Palace’s win lands it a Europa League spot for next season, much to the delight of Glasner, who said Wednesday he wanted to watch the team’s progress on TV next season.
Palace fans set the tone before kickoff with a giant banner like an airport departures board. Europa League: Boarding.
Glasner announced in January he’d leave at the end of the season when his contract expires. The Austrian has been in charge since February 2024 and led Palace to its first major trophy last season in the FA Cup. It’s not clear yet where he’ll go next.
Glasner bid his farewell in unique style, sliding on his stomach between two lines of his players in Slip ’N Slide style ahead of the presentation.
It was the third time in the Conference League’s five-season history that an English team lifted the trophy after West Ham in 2023 and Chelsea a year ago. Some Rayo fans were seen in tears at the final whistle after a first major final for a team so often in the shadow of its neighbors Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
A shot bouncing off both posts
Mateta's goal lit up the final after a cagey first half with no shots on target from either team.
He showed lightning-quick reactions to knock in the rebound after an initial long-range shot from Wharton, who returned to Palace's lineup after an ankle knock against Arsenal last week and was a commanding presence in midfield.
Yeremy Pino came within a whisker of making it 2-0 soon after when he hit a free kick that bounced off one goal post, along the goal line and away off the second post.
Rayo's best chance came early on when Alemão skewed a volley wide of the post off a cross from Pep Chavarria. Tyrick Mitchell missed the target with a diving header for Palace at the end of the first half.
Fan clashes ahead of game
German police said earlier Wednesday that there had been clashes between Palace and Rayo fans. Two people were detained and two police officers sustained minor injuries, police added.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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