For Crystal Palace, their European achievement continued a rollercoaster 12 months.
After their FA Cup final triumph, Eberechi Eze left for Arsenal and captain Marc Guehi almost moved to Liverpool, only for the deal to collapse on deadline day as the Eagles could not find a replacement.
With the added European demands – Thursday’s match was their 55th game of 2025-26 – Palace’s small squad started to suffer and from December they endured a 12-match winless run.
in January, Palace’s FA Cup defence ended with an embarrassing 2-1 third-round loss at sixth-tier Macclesfield. Later that month Oliver Glasner announced his planned departure, with news following of England centre-back Guehi’s transfer to Manchester City.
Glasner then said he felt his squad were “being abandoned completely” by the Palace hierarchy, with many expecting those comments to lead to an immediate exit.
On top of that, key striker Jean-Philippe Mateta would have left for AC Milan in January had he not failed a medical.
Despite all the chaos and drama, Glasner remained in charge and could lead them to another trophy and more magical moments.
“We want to end the season in the perfect way – and we can do it,” Glasner said.
“I said to the players, ‘don’t do anything for me, do it for yourselves, for the club, for the fans’. Winning the Conference League means European football again next season for Crystal Palace.
“They have had a taste, with the FA Cup and Community Shield, and they want honey again. They will not be happy with just avocado. They want something sweeter.”