Crystal Palace capped a rapid rise in European football as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal sealed the Conference League title against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, securing a third major trophy in just over a year and completing Oliver Glasner’s reign with another piece of silverware.

The 1-0 victory delivered Palace’s first European trophy and followed their FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs under Glasner, who took charge of the club’s final match on Wednesday and leaves after guiding the Eagles from perennial outsiders to consistent contenders on several fronts.

Before Glasner arrived, winning in Europe appeared far from Crystal Palace’s expectations after 119 years without a major honour, yet the club have now lifted three trophies in quick succession and turned that long wait into one of the most condensed successful periods in their history.

Palace are only the third English side to win a major European trophy in their debut season in UEFA competition, joining West Ham’s 1964-65 Cup Winners’ Cup success and Newcastle United’s 1968-69 Fairs Cup run, underlining how quickly Glasner’s team adapted to the European stage.

The Conference League victory means Crystal Palace will enter the Europa League in the 2026-27 season, with the Eagles becoming the ninth Premier League club to qualify for European football that year, and returning to the competition they originally reached before being removed over multi-club ownership regulations.

English clubs now have three wins from the first five editions of the Conference League, and Crystal Palace’s result also extends an improving record against Spanish opposition, with English teams losing nine straight major European finals to Spanish clubs between 2006 and 2022, but now winning the last two.

Mateta’s decisive finish, reacting fastest after Adam Wharton’s effort was pushed into the penalty area, made Mateta the third French player to score for an English team in a European final, following Paul Pogba for Manchester United in 2017 and Olivier Giroud for Chelsea in 2019, both in the Europa League.