Crystal Palace defeated Rayo Vallecano with a score of 1-0 to win the first European title in the club's history. The hero of the English representative is Jean-Philippe Mateta with the only goal at the beginning of the second half, closing a memorable journey under Oliver Glasner.
True to the nature of a final, the two teams entered the game cautiously and created a stalemate for most of the first half. Rayo Vallecano was the team that played more proactively thanks to their superior ball control ability. The Spanish representative continuously created pressure with fast attacks on the right wing.
Isi Palazon and Alemao both had chances to open the score but could not beat Palace's defense. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace faced many difficulties in organizing attacks and almost did not create clear chances.
It was not until the last minute of injury time in the first half that the English team had the first notable situation when Tyrick Mitchell headed wide of the post after Adam Wharton's accurate cross. Glasner left the field with a pensive face after the first 45 minutes of inferiority. However, Palace completely changed after halftime.
Right at the beginning of the second half, Adam Wharton unleashed a dangerous shot that goalkeeper Augusto Batalla could not catch. Jean-Philippe Mateta immediately appeared at the right time to volley into Rayo Vallecano's net, scoring the only goal of the match.
The opening goal helped Crystal Palace play much more confidently. Yeremy Pino almost doubled the gap with a free kick that hit both posts, before Mateta continued to send the ball to the goal in the rebound afterwards.
In the final minutes of the match, Rayo Vallecano put all their strength into pressing when coach Inigo Perez fielded a series of attacking players. However, Crystal Palace's defense under the command of Maxence Lacroix still stood firm against all pressure.
When the final whistle sounded, Palace players collapsed on the field in overwhelming happiness.
