⚽UEFA Conference League Discussion Thread -- 2025/26 | Winner: Crystal Palace!

[Sexylizzy2813]

I don't think that it will be such one sided game like we saw in Europa league. And probably it won't be such high scoring game. Yes, Rayo is underdog and I will support them. Imagine English clubs taking all 3 UEFA cups. It would be too much for me . Also, winning final is only chance for both teams to get into next season Europa league for both teams.

Rayo Vallecano is not an underdog as you said and FYI, Rayo Vallecano has held teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid to a draw and won Atletico Madrid this season, despite that they are La Liga teams, but they are all big teams that Crystal Palace may not be able to win any of them if they meet so we shouldn't underrate Rayo Vallecano against Crystal Palace. Though i am suspecting all English teams to win the 3 Europe trophies but it won't be easy for Arsenal to win PSG, that is the only match am scared of, but for Crystal Palace they can still manage and win Rayo Vallecano.

If you say Rayo won those teams that Palace could not win then have you had a thought of the teams Crystal Palace have won in the EPL that Rayo could not win? Crystal Palace did something for themselves and if they played bigger clubs in the EPL Rayo doesn't stand a chance so is a 50/50 thing in that area. Coming to how well both sides have performed, for me I'd say they have the same strength but towards the end part of the season Palace woke up and start playing well, fine Rayo finished in a more better position compared to Crystal Palace but I'd still give it to them EPL side to win.

[Sexylizzy2813]

If you say Rayo won those teams that Palace could not win then have you had a thought of the teams Crystal Palace have won in the EPL that Rayo could not win? Crystal Palace did something for themselves and if they played bigger clubs in the EPL Rayo doesn't stand a chance so is a 50/50 thing in that area. Coming to how well both sides have performed, for me I'd say they have the same strength but towards the end part of the season Palace woke up and start playing well, fine Rayo finished in a more better position compared to Crystal Palace but I'd still give it to them EPL side to win.

It seems to me that Rayo Vallecano’s current form is slightly better than Crystal Palace’s, but it’s very difficult to compare these teams because, in my opinion, they are on different levels. And it’s not just because they play in different leagues, but because they are in very different positions in their league tables. Besides, these teams have never played against each other before, so it’s hard to understand what they are truly capable of against one another. I think Rayo Vallecano will focus more on defending, and this will be a low scoring match.

Not playing each other before will make it difficult for both sides to even find the net, let's say like the whole of the first 45'mins will definitely end in a goalless draw, maybe in the second half we could see some changes but if any of these two sides make any crucial mistake then that would result to a goal that's if the chance given will be used properly.
Palace are good up front same as Rayo (some how) but this is a final that both teams never thought of meeting each other, so for me I think we could be seeing this game heading to extra time, who knows penalty might decide the game.

[SFR10]

Earning 45 points in the Premier League is definitely harder than earning 50 points in La Liga.

Exactly and in addition to that, Crystal Palace has a history of winning each of the games that they've recently played in the final ^{[e.g., winning the Community Shield (against Liverpool) at the start of the season and the FA Cup last year (against Man City)]}, so despite having more injuries and slightly inferior form than their opponent, I'm going with a Crystal Palace win ^{[I expect it to be a closely contested match, so BTTS is probably a good bet as well (over 2.5)]}.

[Volgastallion]

Chances for Rayo to beat a team like Crystal Palace are always lower but that is if we areplaying a league game and this one is not a league game this is for a final of a european competition and is only one shot one opportunity so Rayo chances are there and they can for sure win since the hungry of the win is for sure more on their sides. I suspect that Rayo is gonna win this game 1-0 or 2-1.

I don't think that it will be such one sided game like we saw in Europa league. And probably it won't be such high scoring game. Yes, Rayo is underdog and I will support them. Imagine English clubs taking all 3 UEFA cups. It would be too much for me . Also, winning final is only chance for both teams to get into next season Europa league for both teams.

heheh im with you i dont want to heard all the noise is gonna made if the Premier League takes all 3 trophies from european competitions to home, but i feel like PSG is favorite in the Champions LEague and also feel like Rayo is gonna made the impact.

I read a few people claiming about Premier is hard than LaLiga and im not fully agreeing with that, when you look into europe LaLiga team were always super dominant but Laliga is BORING to watch compared to Premier League.

[LTU_btc]

@buwaytress, do something, spammers is taking over this thread .

I don't understand how will English teams win three finals because they have only won one and the other two isn't guaranteed especially, the Champions League. It's possible for Crystal Palace to win the finals because Rayo might not be able to  withstand Palace attacking force. However, I wouldn't underestimate any of these teams because they have the same chance of winning the trophy.

Yeah, so far there is one English team who won trophy, but there is possibility that all 3 teams will do it and I don't really want to see it happening.

I read a few people claiming about Premier is hard than LaLiga and im not fully agreeing with that, when you look into europe LaLiga team were always super dominant but Laliga is BORING to watch compared to Premier League.

Boring is subjective thing, I personally like La Liga. While it's difficult to argue with statement that EPL is harder than La Liga. When you look names, squad values, EPL is so far away from others.
While I wouldn't say that La Liga dominate in Europe. EPL in recent years have plenty of trophies too - City, Spurs, Aston Villa, Cheslea, West Ham

[Shadiq]

heheh im with you i dont want to heard all the noise is gonna made if the Premier League takes all 3 trophies from european competitions to home, but i feel like PSG is favorite in the Champions LEague and also feel like Rayo is gonna made the impact.

I read a few people claiming about Premier is hard than LaLiga and im not fully agreeing with that, when you look into europe LaLiga team were always super dominant but Laliga is BORING to watch compared to Premier League.

I don't expect all three titles to go to the Premier League. Today's match will also be difficult for Crystal Palace, because I don't see any reason to neglect Rayo Vallecano. Crystal Palace's position is not much better than Rayo.

I hope that one of the remaining 2 European titles will fail to bring home the Premier League. If the Conference League title goes to the Premier League, they will lose the Champions League. If they lose today, they will still lose the Champions League title!

[buwaytress]

I read a few people claiming about Premier is hard than LaLiga and im not fully agreeing with that, when you look into europe LaLiga team were always super dominant but Laliga is BORING to watch compared to Premier League.

Boring is subjective thing, I personally like La Liga. While it's difficult to argue with statement that EPL is harder than La Liga. When you look names, squad values, EPL is so far away from others.
While I wouldn't say that La Liga dominate in Europe. EPL in recent years have plenty of trophies too - City, Spurs, Aston Villa, Cheslea, West Ham

Volgastallion, about difficulty, it's not just a claim. It's backed by statistics and rankings (whether you use OPTA's power ranking, or ELO, which I prefer), Premier League teams fill out the majority of the top.

But excitement and boringness, more subjective, I have found entertainment in La Liga to be higher as well, in the past two or three seasons anyway. It doesn't help that English football and modern football in general are suffering from less and less flow. The just-finished season saw the least amount of actual game time in Premier League era. More interruptions: drink breaks, fasting breaks, more VAR pauses, more fouling, more delaying tactics with simulation, throw in, setpiece deliberation. It grinds my gears.

@buwaytress, do something, spammers is taking over this thread .

It's a full time job LTU_btc... I deleted almost 2 pages worth of trash this week and that's after lowering my benchmark for what I think is trash. In this entire year of cleaning up posts from 3 threads (I used to do it much more but this year maybe two or three times) can you guess how many users reached out to me to ask why or raise an offended hand?

Zero.

If someone deleted my posts, I'd want to know why!

Might start actively reporting them to their sig managers but oh, I just remembered, I have a life. Maybe some day when I'm alone in the dark and want to burn some things down.

[pawel7777]

Crystal Palace 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

Game stats:

Congrats to Crystal Palace. It was a modest victory, but, despite what the stats could suggest, it was not a very close game. Palace were clearly a better team and were able to create better chances, so it's a fully deserved victory.

This was the first time Palace won a European Cup of any sort. They have a few domestic cups in their record, but, until today, they have never managed to lift any European trophy in their 120-year history.

Apart from the cup and related prize money, Palace will also get a spot in the group stage of the Europa League next season, so it was a really fruitful day for them.

[masulum]

^{source: https://x.com/Conf_League/status/2059747458167497141/photo/1}

Congratulation for Crystal Palace for UEFA Conference League title!
This is really amazing season, from club that maybe mostly only have a target to survive in EPL, now succeed to achieve European trophy and next season will play in UEFA Europa League. Challenge will be much bigger, but this victory can become start of new era for Crystal Palace. This victory continues the dominance EPL clubs as winners in the Conference League final. From 3 club from EPL as finalist, all of them become the champion so far.

[Daniel91]

Crystal Palace justified their role as favorites and deservedly won the trophy.
Once again, it was confirmed that the English league is the strongest league in the world and that English clubs are always competitive in European competitions.
This is the second trophy won by English clubs in European competitions this season and I would not be surprised if they won all 3 trophies.
In other leagues there are strong clubs like Real, Barcelona, ​​Bayern or PSG but the difference between those clubs and leagues and the English league is that the competition in the English league is much stronger and there is no excessive dominance of just 1 or 2 clubs.

[Sim_card]

Crystal Palace justified their role as favorites and deservedly won the trophy.
Once again, it was confirmed that the English league is the strongest league in the world and that English clubs are always competitive in European competitions.
This is the second trophy won by English clubs in European competitions this season and I would not be surprised if they won all 3 trophies.
In other leagues there are strong clubs like Real, Barcelona, ​​Bayern or PSG but the difference between those clubs and leagues and the English league is that the competition in the English league is much stronger and there is no excessive dominance of just 1 or 2 clubs.

In other big leagues, the strong clubs are the ones finishing on top three or two on the table but in EPL we have up to seven or eight clubs that are strong and they're the ones occupying the top 8 position on the table. If these clubs from 5th position below goes to the European competitions, they will definitely perform better than other leagues because they're stronger than them.

[buwaytress]

That's it boys. Palace take their deserved (maybe?) place in Europa next season, and we'll see if Eze traded off Conference for Champions League correctly (but he'll already be pleased with a Prem medal methinks).

See you next season, I'll try to be more strict with the moderation -- let some of you guys go already heh.

[Sexylizzy2813]

^{source: https://x.com/Conf_League/status/2059747458167497141/photo/1}

Congratulation for Crystal Palace for UEFA Conference League title!
This is really amazing season, from club that maybe mostly only have a target to survive in EPL, now succeed to achieve European trophy and next season will play in UEFA Europa League. Challenge will be much bigger, but this victory can become start of new era for Crystal Palace. This victory continues the dominance EPL clubs as winners in the Conference League final. From 3 club from EPL as finalist, all of them become the champion so far.

That is a very beautiful view Palace have there, standing and lifting the trophy makes the fans to celebrate more than the players because in their history this is the first time that they are playing the Conference League and they are champions, next season they are getting ready for another bigger challenge (Europa League). This is the time the club need to expand the group of players, get in new players to make them look strong and for other clubs to take them serious, this is the time to aim higher and not to finish 14th to 17th on the EPL table, they need to be serious honestly.
I don't know but it seems like some players might still choose to leave the club and try something new especially Mateta, he has been pushing to leave before the AC Milan deal collapsed at the last minute of the transfer window but yet again this title they won could change his mind who knows?

[Franctoshi]

^{source: https://x.com/Conf_League/status/2059747458167497141/photo/1}

That is a very beautiful view Palace have there, standing and lifting the trophy makes the fans to celebrate more than the players because in their history this is the first time that they are playing the Conference League and they are champions, next season they are getting ready for another bigger challenge (Europa League). This is the time the club need to expand the group of players, get in new players to make them look strong and for other clubs to take them serious, this is the time to aim higher and not to finish 14th to 17th on the EPL table, they need to be serious honestly.
I don't know but it seems like some players might still choose to leave the club and try something new especially Mateta, he has been pushing to leave before the AC Milan deal collapsed at the last minute of the transfer window but yet again this title they won could change his mind who knows?

Finally, Crystal Palace got a European glory. Actually, lifting that Conference League cup isn't just a piece of silverware; this is just a turning point for the club because this will further encourage them to do more and try to appear in the European competition. It was indeed a well-deserved victory; it wasn't a surprise win to me, though, from one English team to another English team, up the English teams as they've continued to expand their dominance.

[Sexylizzy2813]

^{source: https://x.com/Conf_League/status/2059747458167497141/photo/1}

That is a very beautiful view Palace have there, standing and lifting the trophy makes the fans to celebrate more than the players because in their history this is the first time that they are playing the Conference League and they are champions, next season they are getting ready for another bigger challenge (Europa League). This is the time the club need to expand the group of players, get in new players to make them look strong and for other clubs to take them serious, this is the time to aim higher and not to finish 14th to 17th on the EPL table, they need to be serious honestly.
I don't know but it seems like some players might still choose to leave the club and try something new especially Mateta, he has been pushing to leave before the AC Milan deal collapsed at the last minute of the transfer window but yet again this title they won could change his mind who knows?

Finally, Crystal Palace got a European glory. Actually, lifting that Conference League cup isn't just a piece of silverware; this is just a turning point for the club because this will further encourage them to do more and try to appear in the European competition. It was indeed a well-deserved victory; it wasn't a surprise win to me, though, from one English team to another English team, up the English teams as they've continued to expand their dominance.

Since they won the Conference League title I just hope they won't end up like Spurs that won the Europa League and the next season they started struggling with injuries and that has been the problem with English teams, maybe some, they are fast in losing consistency when they do  well. Let's see if they can make the big side in the EPL struggle to beat them, us it happens that is when we'll see the race for the EPL title more difficult but if Crystal Palace find it hard to be better than they were in this season the first person to take the blame is the manager and we know how EPL management works, they don't waste time in sacking any manager that isn't doing well no matter what you have done for the club in the past. These sets of players I'm seeing an make this team great but the question is, can they hold them down to stay at the club for a longer time?

[el kaka22]

Glasner leaving is going to hurt Palace a lot in the upcoming years. He has been the manager how has done the best with a player squad that suppose to be fighting for relegation and he took them to three cups in a year. I see that there is no change, he still plans on leaving even after winning conference league as well, he has no plans to stay.

I think it is easier to see that we are talking about a guy who just wants to take a break. He made it clear that rebuilding a team constantly because players are sold to higher richer clubs and he has to constantly work towards keeping the team going while losing his best players as the reason why he wants to leave. Which means he will wait for a call from a team that will be big enough to not lose players to big transfer offers.

[CLS63]

I was able to predict Crystal Palace win like probably most people. But I failed on the over 2.5 goals part. The match wasn't as good as I expected. I wasn't impressed with any side very much.

Crystal Palace deserved more of course with a better performance. Glasner is leaving if things haven't changed. He is leaving with another trophy for his team. I don't even know why they are parting ways with him while he is able to bring trophies to this team.

[pawel7777]

UEFA released tournament stats for this season:
https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/statistics/
In all games, we have seen a total of 379 goals, which calculates to 2.48 goal per game or 36 minutes per goal.

The winners, Crystal Palace, are also leader in the following categories:
Goals: 36
Total attempts: 230
Distance covered: 1735.5 km
Tackles: 217
Balls recovered: 593

As for individual players' stats, the top scorer is Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace) with 9 goals to his name. The top assistant are AZ Alkmaar's Kees Smit and Samsunspor's Carlo Holse, with 5 assists each.

[snipie]

UEFA released tournament stats for this season:
https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/statistics/
In all games, we have seen a total of 379 goals, which calculates to 2.48 goal per game or 36 minutes per goal.

The winners, Crystal Palace, are also leader in the following categories:
Goals: 36
Total attempts: 230
Distance covered: 1735.5 km
Tackles: 217
Balls recovered: 593

As for individual players' stats, the top scorer is Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace) with 9 goals to his name. The top assistant are AZ Alkmaar's Kees Smit and Samsunspor's Carlo Holse, with 5 assists each.

Premier League teams have the advantage versus their counterparts in the other leagues regardless of the English team position in the ranking.
Crystal Palace ended 15 in the table, yet they won Conference League and gonna play Europa League in the next season, directly from the group stage.
The funny part is that Crystal Palace didn't even finish the group stage here in the first positions. They took playoffs before proceeding. They were lucky also that Fiorentina was weak this season, same goes for AZ Alkmaar, otherwise they would suffered a lot here.

[Amphenomenon]

Premier League teams have the advantage versus their counterparts in the other leagues regardless of the English team position in the ranking.
Crystal Palace ended 15 in the table, yet they won Conference League and gonna play Europa League in the next season, directly from the group stage.
The funny part is that Crystal Palace didn't even finish the group stage here in the first positions. They took playoffs before proceeding. They were lucky also that Fiorentina was weak this season, same goes for AZ Alkmaar, otherwise they would suffered a lot here.

Palace were able to get the trophy even after falling off from their excellent form they started this season and before with. Palace has been losing key players without seeing them getting replaced even effectively yet stayed until the final game and got a UEFA trophy.

Glasner and his men indeed changed the club history with their recent trophies, I wonder how Palace will cope next season and this is one reason I won't consider them as Europa League trophy contenders next season like I considered as among the conference League favorite, since the team is somehow getting a fresh start.