Conference League final LIVE: Crystal Palace edge Rayo Vallecano to win first European trophy

[p][b]23:11 CET - [/b]That brings an end to Flashscore's coverage of this season's Conference League, but the club season isn't quite over yet, with the small matter of the Champions League final on Saturday.[/p][p]We'll be providing live coverage of it and all the build-up, as well as reaction and analysis from tonight's game.[/p][p]All that's left to say is congratulations to Palace, commiserations to Rayo Vallecano, and bring on the weekend![/p][embed guid="f04607b8-cdda-4038-9dd6-1327a374fabc" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2059741393438888277/history" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]23:06 CET - [/b]That was a thoroughly professional performance from the Premier League side, who showed no sign of being overwhelmed by what was right up there with the biggest games in the club's history.[/p][p]It was a dream farewell for Glasner, who leaves having won Palace an FA Cup, a Community Shield and a Conference League. Expect his next job to be a big one.[/p][p][b]23:00 CET - [/b]Palace fans would've wondered if they'd ever feel such ecstasy again after watching their side lift the FA Cup last season, but Oliver Glasner has followed that up by leading the Eagles to their first European trophy.[/p][p]Rayo Vallecano can be proud of themselves after falling just short, but Palace were the better team tonight and are very much worthy winners.[/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="75550258-7552-4c04-8013-5d3cdb15e6d4" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="913fe38d-cb33-404e-bb59-ac58fe5282fb" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]22:56 CET - [/b][b]Crystal Palace are the Conference League champions![/b][/p][embed guid="5e0e51f0-e420-4ed3-b90c-354cbff990a5" url="https://x.com/CPFC/status/2059741180477182028" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]22:38 CET - [/b]Rayo Vallecano are starting to threaten more, but they're hardly going close and are running out of time. 15 minutes to go.[/p][embed guid="fc33c837-ee43-431a-844b-74ac25c66b5e" url="https://x.com/RayoVallecano/status/2059735959067890102" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]22:21 CET - [/b]Palace are in the ascendancy right now, with Mateta going close again and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/santos-yeremi/8fnHDvMe/"]Yeremy Pino[/a] hitting both posts with an excellent free-kick.[/p][p][b]22:17 CET - [/b]That was just Mateta's second goal in the 2025/2026 Conference League, with him netting for the first time since a match on the 9th of April 2026 against Fiorentina.[/p][p][b]22:13 CET - [/b]Crystal Palace take the lead! And there's no surprise as to who got their goal, with star striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mateta-jean-philippe/nsFUj6GN/"]Jean-Philippe Mateta[/a] opening the scoring.[/p][p]Wharton picked the ball up deep, drove forward and hit a powerful shot from outside the box; [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/batalla-augusto/8Wuyaqc4/"]Augusto Batalla[/a] parried it, but only into the path of the Frenchman, who made no mistake.[/p][embed guid="da1a400d-432a-4a82-874e-fa5051d0bced" url="https://x.com/CPFC/status/2059730466572324990" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]22:10 CET - [/b]The second half is underway! Can either side seize the initiative and claim a historic victory, or will this battle be taken to extra time?[/p][p][b]21:52 CET - [/b]That's that for what was a very quiet first half, with the sides having just two shots each.[/p][p]The biggest chance of the opening 45 minutes came at the very end of it, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mitchell-tyrick/tbyIjQ0h/"]Tyrick Mitchell[/a] heading just wide.[/p][image alt="First-half momentum" id="bcd9a50a-7a56-4d73-8c1a-aec755badcad" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="ed10af0a-97a7-450c-b4fd-f02c056df273" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]21:41 CET - [/b]After a brief delay due to a medical issue in the crowd, Rayo Vallecano almost opened the scoring through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lopez-unai/dYFtDut6/"]Unai Lopez[/a], who fired just wide from the edge of the box after a nice move.[/p][p][b]21:18 CET - [/b]It's been a cagey opening 15 minutes, with Rayo Vallecano enjoying most of the possession but Palace having the only two efforts on goal.[/p][p][b]21:03 CET - [/b]The 2026 Conference League final is underway! We'll bring you all the major updates right here, and you can follow every kick of it [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/crystal-palace-AovF1Mia/rayo-vallecano-8bcjFy6O/?mid=Q17aZoV7"]by clicking here[/a].[/p][p][b]20:51 CET - [/b]Rayo Vallecano head into this final in better form than their opponents, but it is worth noting that Palace's losses have come against the two best sides in England in Arsenal and Manchester City.[/p][image alt="The sides' recent form" id="a2016695-3240-4baf-a7ae-1bd30c3dd99e" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="6ae1a2c5-3d03-4907-8942-c8810768b809" original-width="1021" original-height="904" /][p][b]20:30 CET - [/b]Wharton being fit is a huge boost for Palace. The midfield has been the heartbeat of his side on their European journey this season, making crucial contributions all over the pitch.[/p][p]The fact that so many disagree with Thomas Tuchel's call to leave him out of England's World Cup shows just how highly rated the 22-year-old is.[/p][image alt="Adam Wharton's touches in the 25/26 Conference League" id="509092a0-88eb-4e23-83cb-68768a5af1ec" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="0d5f0c00-6d3d-439c-96dd-b5b8a5b618ec" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p][b]20:09 CET - [/b]Rayo Vallecano's key man on their road to the final has been veteran centre-back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lejeune-florian/fNu1l3xc/"]Florian Lejeune[/a], who has led the defence superbly, and boasts the highest Flashscore rating of any player from the club in the competition.[/p][p]The 35-year-old has yet to win a major trophy in his career, with spells at Villarreal and Newcastle not being as successful as he would've hoped, and he'll be well aware that this could be his final chance to lift one.[/p][p]Whether or not he can keep [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mateta-jean-philippe/nsFUj6GN/"]Jean-Philippe Mateta[/a] quiet will be one of tonight's key battles.[/p][image alt="Florian Lejeune's 25/26 Conference League stats" id="c03d5395-919f-40aa-b36d-70b20538e4d3" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform (ALBERTO GARDIN / NURPHOTO / NURPHOTO VIA AFP)" guid="98876814-8cec-4f44-857b-edfc3b666c07" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]19:52 CET - [/b]The lineups are in for tonight's final, and the big news is that star midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wharton-adam/v5IYUpDm/"]Adam Wharton[/a] starts for Crystal Palace, having been a doubt due to an ankle injury.[/p][image alt="The starting XIs" id="dac1e4dc-3679-413b-8fe3-33bc1b1ff0f3" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="8b7789da-0c9f-44d6-b385-cc7cce5f61d4" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p][b]19:00 CET - [/b]After [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aston-villa/W00wmLO0/"]Aston Villa[/a]'s Europa League triumph a week ago, the attention of the footballing world now shifts to Leipzig, where tonight one of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rayo-vallecano/8bcjFy6O/"]Rayo Vallecano[/a] will make history.[/p][p]The Conference League may be the third most important tournament of UEFA's competitions, but tonight that is of no concern to two clubs used to being underdogs in their cities.[/p][p]Palace have had success in the last year with their first-ever FA Cup win, but their status has always been dwarfed by the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/UDg08Ohm/"]Tottenham Hotspur[/a].[/p][p]For Rayo, they have been in the shadow of both [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atl-madrid/jaarqpLQ/"]Atletico Madrid[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a] in the Spanish capital, but they now have a chance to shine.[/p][p]The South Londoners were the tournament favourites before a ball was kicked in this year's Conference League. Made to play in the competition after an admin error saw them miss out on the Europa League, they have lived up to their billing by making the final.[/p][p]Coming from LaLiga, Rayo Vallecano were also expected to go far. A final and a potential spot in next season's Europa League is something that would have been a dream.[/p][image alt="Could Ismaila Sarr be the difference tonight?" id="ace1c0ea-1075-4e60-accf-f5382d3e36ed" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform / Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Boyers" guid="f273c4a7-6c41-4b52-85a8-2003cf181afa" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Both managers will also be in the spotlight tonight, but for different reasons.[/p][p]For Oliver Glasner, this will be his last game in charge of the Eagles. He leaves as its most successful coach, guiding them to a potential third trophy, but disputes over signings, especially the sale of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guehi-marc/KEeklutO/"]Marc Guehi[/a] in January to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a], made him announce his departure earlier this year.[/p][p]Inigo Perez may not be in this spot at all had it not been for Brexit regulations. He was meant to join [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bournemouth/OtpNdwrc/"]Bournemouth[/a] as part of Adoni Iraola's backroom staff in 2023, only for his visa application to be denied over his perceived worth to the UK.[/p][p]That seems a little silly now, given he has revitalised Rayo Vallecano. His style of football has suited the rather enigmatic club, as they have played some sublime stuff to match sides with bigger budgets all season long.[/p][p]Many will be watching his team tonight to see how he performs under this type of scrutiny, and if he can win it all, Perez will undoubtedly have some suitors this summer.[/p][p]From 19:45 CET, we will bring you all the team news from Leipzig plus more build-up until kick-off at 21:00 CET.[/p][p]Want to read more about Rayo Vallecano? Flashscore's Anna Carreau [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/soccer-conference-league-how-sergio-camello-became-the-soul-of-conference-league-hopefuls-rayo-vallecano/zZMg3xef/"]caught up with one of their stars this week[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/camello-sergio/fFlZRkvF/"]Sergio Camello[/a].[/p][image alt="Sergio Camello in training with Rayo Vallecano ahead of the final" id="385e2f82-f8ee-480a-820f-5ffa0958f511" credit-line="Annegret Hilse / Reuters" guid="1dc6d030-2c5d-46db-a935-7c1cfd7b4081" original-width="5383" original-height="4168" /]