Crystal Palace Conference League Final: Glasner Vows To Give Everything To End Tenure On A High

Oliver Glasner vowed to give everything to finish on a high as Crystal Palace reached the Conference League final, with the departing head coach now aiming to sign off with European silverware in Leipzig against Rayo Vallecano on 27 May.

The final in Germany will also decide Crystal Palace’s European status for 2026-27, as victory would secure a Europa League place next season, giving Glasner a chance to leave Selhurst Park with both a trophy and a major qualification.

Palace confirmed their spot in the showpiece by beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 in the second leg, completing a 5-2 aggregate success after a controlled semi-final tie, with the Eagles now turning attention from knockout football to a decisive one-off game in Leipzig.

In that second leg, a 25th-minute own goal from Pedro Henrique put Palace ahead, Eguinaldo levelled nine minutes later with a strong finish, but Ismaila Sarr struck early in the second half to settle the contest and calm any tension at Selhurst Park.

The coming Crystal Palace Conference League final extends an impressive personal streak for Glasner, whose fourth straight full season in management now brings a fourth consecutive final, following Europa League success with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021-22 and a DFB-Pokal final appearance the next year.

Glasner’s first full campaign with Palace had already delivered the FA Cup, and this season has added the club’s first European final, with Palace becoming only the third English team to reach a major European final in their debut season in such competitions, after West Ham in 1964-65 and Newcastle United in 1968-69.

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"It's my fourth consecutive final in my fourth consecutive full season; Europa League, German Cup, FA Cup and now this," Glasner said. "It's massive for me personally. Everyone around me knows that when I announced to leave, it was my duty to work even harder and deliver as a manager to make our fans proud. We have three weeks to prepare and analyse Rayo Vallecano, a very good team. It will be fantastic. You always want your last game to be for something, for silverware. I promise that we will give everything we have to bring it back to Selhurst."

The Austrian coach has already confirmed that this season will be the last with Palace, and the meeting with Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig will mark Glasner’s final match in charge of the Eagles after a spell that has quickly brought domestic and European success.

Before the Crystal Palace Conference League final, Palace face three Premier League fixtures, starting with David Moyes’ Everton, who are themselves chasing European qualification, while Vallecano arrive in Leipzig after beating Strasbourg 2-0 on aggregate in the other semi-final.

Glasner is keen to balance recovery and rhythm during this spell, especially after learning from the first leg against Shakhtar Donetsk, when Palace trained immediately after the match and, in Glasner’s view, suffered a noticeable drop in sharpness during the following days.

"I just gave them [Friday] off. We had a bad experience after the first leg against Shakhtar. We trained the next day, and they weren't sharp," Glasner added. "Maybe this will help when they are out somewhere in London. I said to the players that we won't wave the white flag against Everton, but I think it's important they enjoy themselves, rest, and we will meet on Saturday to prepare for Everton. It's about getting everything planned in the right way."

Palace’s hopes of claiming a European place for 2026-27 through league position now appear minimal, so focus is naturally shifting towards Leipzig, where success in the Crystal Palace Conference League final would provide a fitting conclusion to Glasner’s tenure and confirm back-to-back seasons of European football for the club.