Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano out of shadow of big-city neighbors in Conference League final

LEIPZIG, Germany: There’s an ironic prize on offer if Crystal Palace can beat Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final on Wednesday: A spot in the competition Palace originally should have been playing in anyway.
A season which began with Palace in court appealing in vain against demotion from the Europa League ends with a chance to win their first-ever European trophy in the competition they didn’t want to play in. The winner gets a Europa League place for 2026-27.
It’s the last game at Palace for Oliver Glasner, the club’s most successful coach, before he leaves at the end of the season.
If Palace win, “then they play European football in the Europa League next year, and then they get next year what we should have got this year,” Glasner said Tuesday.
“I would like to watch on TV that they start the Europa League with the desire and the confidence that they can win the Europa League as well.

This would make me really happy.”
Spain’s Rayo fought their way to the final despite having a season marred by a fan boycott and a simmering feud between the supporters and the club president.
Stepping out of the shadows
Palace and Rayo are usually in the shadow of more successful neighbors. On Wednesday, they get the European spotlight to themselves.
Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena is an unlikely corporate setting for two vibrant fan bases.
Far from the glamor of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, Rayo is the Spanish capital’s third team, backed by passionate fans from a working-class neighborhood.
Pirate imagery and left-wing politics make Rayo stand out, while fans even boycotted a game — which turned out to be a stunning 3-0 upset of Atletico — in protest at the club president, while the team briefly moved out of their stadium