Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano faced each other in a historic UEFA Conference League Final, the third most important club competition in European football.

With modest budgets and limited continental history, both teams turned the final into one of the most unexpected European stories in recent years.

All goals from Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano

Crystal Palace goal

• 50’ Jean-Philippe Mateta capitalizes on a rebound inside the box to put Crystal Palace ahead in the Final.

Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano make history

Both clubs arrived at this campaign with very little European experience.

Aside from this season, Rayo Vallecano’s only previous European appearance came in 2000-01, when they reached the UEFA Cup quarterfinals before being eliminated by Deportivo Alavés.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace had only appeared in the 1998 Intertoto Cup.

Two modest clubs on Europe’s stage

The background of both clubs makes this final even more remarkable.

• Rayo Vallecano rank 92nd in UEFA’s club coefficient rankings.
• Crystal Palace sit 86th.

There is also a major financial gap between the two projects:

• Crystal Palace spent €145 million on transfers this season.
• Rayo Vallecano invested just €7.1 million.

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