Glasner hails Crystal Palace Europa League return after Conference League crown

LEIPZIG, Germany (AFP) — Oliver Glasner marked Crystal Palace’s UEFA Conference League success on Wednesday by declaring that the London club had finally reached the level he believes it should occupy, following what he called a “year’s detour”.

Jean-Philippe Mateta settled the final after half-time, scoring the only goal in Palace’s 1-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano. The result delivered the club’s first European title and also secured a spot in next season’s Europa League.

Palace had earned Europa League qualification by winning the FA Cup last season, but UEFA later removed them from that competition because of regulations covering multi-club ownership.

“I said to the players, ‘Get now what you deserve after winning the FA Cup — the Europa League,’ “ Glasner told reporters after the match. “Now, it’s a one-year delay; the club, the fans, the players get what they deserve. “Sometimes you have to take a detour, and now we’re there.”

Glasner said in January that he would depart Palace at the end of the season. When he took charge, the club had no major trophy in its history. He exits with the FA Cup, the Community Shield and Palace’s first continental title added to that record.

“We hear a lot when the fans say thank you to us for giving them the best day of their life, and all these emotions. And I said thank you to the players because it’s the same for me because they gave me great, incredible days in my life — and that’s what I really appreciate ,” Glasner said.

He described his spell with Palace as “a good chapter to read in the Crystal Palace book, but other chapters will follow”.

Tyrick Mitchell, who has spent 10 years with the London side, said the Conference League triumph brought “pure delight”.

“It’s amazing! It’s the same feeling that we had when we won the FA Cup,” Mitchell told TNT Sports. “It’s just pure delight, pure emotions, and we’re just happy that we were able to get over the line.

“It definitely is [the hardest season we’ve played],” he said. “We play 60 games a season, so many of our bodies are not used to it. We had times when we weren’t winning. We lost a couple games in this competition.”

Adam Wharton, whose attempt on goal came back into Mateta’s path for the decisive finish, said the achievement was difficult to describe for both the squad and the supporters.

“You can’t put the feeling into words. It’s incredible. South London, the fans. It’s unbelievable,” Wharton said. “The start of the game was a bit cagey, as it’s bound to be in a final, but we grew into it, found where the spaces were.”

Wharton, who was not part of last season’s FA Cup final celebrations, said he now had “two celebrations to catch up on”.