Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano faced each other in the UEFA Conference League final in Leipzig, with Italian referee Maurizio Mariani in charge of the match. He was assisted by Daniele Bindoni and Alberto Tegoni, while Sweden’s Glenn Nyberg served as the fourth official and Italy’s Marco Di Bello was the VAR referee.
The final began with strong support from both sets of fans, who displayed impressive choreographies before kick-off. Crystal Palace lined up in a 3-4-3 formation with Henderson in goal, while Rayo Vallecano used a 4-2-3-1 system led by Batalla in goal and Romanian defender Andrei Rațiu at right back. Rațiu was announced as a starter and had the chance to make history as the first Romanian footballer to win the Conference League.
Crystal Palace reached the final after a convincing semifinal victory over Shakhtar Donetsk, winning 5-2 on aggregate. Rayo Vallecano advanced by beating Strasbourg twice, with identical 1-0 wins. Both teams entered the final having reached the last act of a European competition for the first time in their histories.
The match was seen as balanced, though statistical models gave Crystal Palace the edge, with a 61 percent chance of victory compared with Rayo Vallecano’s 39 percent. The English club arrived in strong form under manager Oliver Glasner, who had already won the FA Cup in the previous season and was looking to cap his spell at Selhurst Park with a European trophy. Rayo, meanwhile, impressed throughout the competition under Íñigo Pérez, earning praise for their high intensity, aggressive pressing and attacking football.
During the first half, Rayo Vallecano created the best early chances. In the 25th minute, Alemão missed the target from inside the box after a promising opportunity. Later, in the 39th minute, Unai López tried his luck from the edge of the area, but his shot went wide of the goal. Crystal Palace also threatened in the opening stages, but neither side was able to break the deadlock before the latest reported phase of the game.
The winner of the final would not only lift the Conference League trophy but also secure a place in the league phase of the Europa League for the following season. Up to that point, only Roma, West Ham, Olympiacos and Chelsea had won the competition since its creation. For Rațiu, the match carried special significance, as he stood as the only Romanian footballer involved in a European final in the 2025/2026 season.
Romanian football had recent representation in European finals through Radu Drăgușin, who won the Europa League with Tottenham in the previous season, although he did not play in the final because of injury.
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