Glasner's long Palace goodbye sets up 'perfect' finale

Crystal Palace desperately did not want to be in the Conference League - now they are one game from winning it and creating more club history.

On one of the greatest nights a passionate and raucous Selhurst Park has seen, the Eagles beat Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 to seal a 5-2 aggregate success in the semi-finals.

Having won the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2025 at Wembley, their remarkable European journey started in a Swiss courtroom, unsuccessfully appealing their demotion into the Conference League from the second-tier Europa League.

But since then, Palace have not looked back.

They have travelled to Norway, Poland, France, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Italy and back to Poland, with one last stop to come - the final in Germany.

And should Palace lift the trophy on Wednesday, 27 May, in Leipzig against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano, who defeated Gary O'Neil's Strasbourg 2-0 on aggregate in their semi-final, it would complete an unprecedented phase of success for the club.

Boss Oliver Glasner, who will leave in the summer having only been appointed in February 2024, is on the verge of a third trophy in a remarkable period.

Even the 51-year-old could not believe what has been achieved.

"I spoke to the chairman before the match, he always comes into my office," said Glasner afterwards.

"I said, 'do you ever think we would be playing in the semi-final of a European competition?' He said 'no'.

"I said, 'when we talked for the first time three years ago, I didn't think about it'. This is what you achieve if you work hard and stick together in tough moments - and we have had a few. When you stick together in difficult moments, you get the reward."

Electric atmosphere at Selhurst Park

Image caption,

Ismaila Sarr scored his ninth goal of the Conference League, to become the top scorer in the competition

"I really enjoy the European nights at Selhurst," added the Austrian. "We had to grow into the competition and the fans had to grow. If you look when we started against Larnaca, the level of excitement increased and increased."

At Selhurst Park on Thursday it reached fever pitch.

While the Shakhtar fans bounced in one corner, the home supporters played their part in creating a fantastic atmosphere, with everyone clapping and cheering.

Never before has the club anthem of 'Glad All Over' been sung louder, with added pyrotechnics enhancing the party mood further.

"It was a fantastic atmosphere and a great night at Selhurst," added Glasner. "It's a huge achievement and great credit to the players, everybody could see how good Shakhtar are."

Goalkeeper and captain Dean Henderson summed up the mood as he said: "It's incredible for the football club. You see the connection between the players and the supporters, it's fantastic. It's unbelievable.

"When you come in from a game like that [the FA Cup final], it gives you confidence and makes you hungry. We've got an ambitious group of players as well.

"It's pretty incredible, honestly, to get into a European competition with Crystal Palace, never mind make the final. We've got to deliver something special. We need to get back what we deserve as well [Europa League qualification]."

A golden period in club's 120-year history

Image caption,

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson grabbed a megaphone from the fans to celebrate with them after the game

Since Palace were formed in 1905, they have found trophies hard to come by.

Their only success of merit was in 1991 when Ian Wright scored twice in a 4-1 Wembley final win over Everton to win the Zenith Data Systems Cup.

But Eagles fans have now had 12 unforgettable months.

Eberechi Eze's goal gave them a 1-0 win over Manchester City for a first FA Cup success, before the Community Shield followed with a penalty shootout victory over reigning Premier League champions Liverpool.

That FA Cup glory should have taken Palace into the Europa League, but that was quickly taken away.

The club were punished by Uefa for breaching multi-club ownership rules as American businessman John Textor, who owned a 43% stake in Palace until he sold it in June, was also the majority owner of Lyon, another Europa League qualifier.

Lyon finished higher domestically so they got the Europa League spot, with Palace demoted to the third-tier Conference League and Nottingham Forest taking the Eagles' place.

They appealed but, despite chairman Steve Parish attending an eight-hour legal case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, they lost.

However, 16 games across the continent later, Palace are now in their first European final, chasing more history, with special cheers from the fans reserved for the news that Forest had lost 4-0 to Aston Villa on Thursday to end their own run in the Europa League.

The Conference League final will provide a fitting farewell for Glasner.

He has consistently said he would not be staying at Selhurst Park beyond this season.

Nevertheless, that did not stop Palace fans from serenading the Austrian and urging him to stay.

"Maybe because I'm leaving some people have come up to me and are saying this is something really special," said Glasner.

"Some people are saying, 'thank you for these exciting two years we've had together'.

"What these players have done for Crystal Palace is incredible, winning the FA Cup, the Community Shield and now this. A few years ago it would've been so far away.

"Now it is close to grab it and you can write history again and give the fans moments that will stay with them forever."

'They want something sweeter'

Image caption,

Crystal Palace beat Manchester City 1-0 to win the FA Cup for the first time in May 2025

For Palace, their European achievement continued a rollercoaster 12 months.

After their FA Cup final triumph, 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.

But, 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 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.

Yet, 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," he added.

"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."