Category: European Soccer

Crystal Palace overcame Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the Conference League final Wednesday.

Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the winning goal in Leipzig, slotting home after Rayo’s Augusto Batalla parried a thunderous Adam Wharton strike into his path. Palace almost doubled their lead moments later in the second half, when Yeremy Pino’s free-kick bounced off both posts but somehow stayed out.

The win marks Palace’s first major European trophy and their second major title in two years after Oliver Glasner guided The Eagles to FA Cup glory in 2025. The Conference League final was Glasner’s last game at the helm.

Rayo, meanwhile, were playing in their first continental final.

More to come.

Check back for updates.

I know the whole ‘all Brazilian players want to play for Barcelona” thing and I get it. But this one feels a bit more than that.

With all the daily noise coming out reporting Joao Pedro to Barcelona, the Catalan side HAVE to be getting some encouragement from somewhere. And actually, we know that it’s directly from Pedro’s camp, because as reported on here a number of times now, he WANTS the move.

As our sources revealed, Pedro has spoken to his friend Raphinha about playing for Barcelona and also, has told his agent to see if he can make the move happen this summer.

The problem for Pedro is that he is tied to Chelsea on a long contract, and Chelsea are not listening to any offers for him right now.

But the fact that even Barcelona insider Gerard Romero is now speaking on Pedro to Barcelona, and Barca have officials in London right now meeting with Pedro’s people and trying to force a move, tells me that EVERYONE wants this move other than Chelsea.

And for me, if a player so badly wants to move away from the club, as I’ve said hundreds of times lately, then I’m sorry but they just have to go. Pedro is a class player and I’d be gutted to lose him. But I never want any player who wants to be elsewhere, it’s never a good recipe.

I don’t think Pedro would cause issues if he is forced to stay and I actually think he would still be a good asset. But if your head is somewhere else, are you truly into what you are doing?

Pedro is top but again, it’s not like he would be irreplaceable. I’ve had him in my indispensables list but we also have to remember he’s only been here for one season, it should take more than one good season to prove to me that you are untouchable. Of course I don’t want to see him sold. But I want players who’s heads are in Chelsea, not in Barcelona, Real Madrid, or anywhere else. Do we really want to be doing squad overhauls every three years because a bunch of the current squad want to go elsewhere?

I don’t think Chelsea will fold on this one though, but it does concern me that Romero is now talking about it – it just proves to me how badly Pedro wants this move.

Brazilian striker Alemao glanced in the only goal to give Rayo Vallecano a precious 1-0 lead in the UEFA Conference League semi-final first leg against visiting Strasbourg on Thursday.

In a meeting between two teams seeking to reach a first European final, Alemao rose at the near post in the 54th minute to meet a Unai Lopez corner. He missed the ball with his head but it hit his right shoulder and lobbed in to the far corner of the net.

In an energetic but scrappy match in which the hosts collected four yellow cards and the visitors five, the visitors started strongly.

Roared on by a raucous crowd at their 15,000-capacity Vallecas Stadium in Madrid, the hosts wrested away control. They managed 24 strikes at goal compared to the French club’s total of five.

Crystal Palace took a giant step towards the UEFA Conference League final in their first season of European football with a 3-1 semi-final, first leg win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday.

Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Daichi Kamada and Jorgen Strand Larsen in Poland put the Eagles in command of the tie despite a spirited performance from the Ukrainian league leaders.

Shakhtar have remained remarkably competitive in European football despite their long exile from Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict with Russia.

But the vast difference in resources between the sides showed as Strand Larsen, who joined Palace for a club record £48 million ($65 million) in February, came off the bench to give last season’s FA Cup winners a two-goal cushion late on.

“It’s a nice half-time lead, but not more,” said Palace manager Oliver Glasner.

“It was a huge impact from the bench. So overall we’re very pleased with the performance, but it’s just the first step.”

Palace got off to a dream start as they took the lead after just 21 seconds.

Jean-Philippe Mateta and Yeremy Pino combined neatly before the former played in Sarr to fire home his 18th goal of the season, eight of which have come in the Conference League.

But Arda Turan’s side pinned back their Premier League opponents for the remainder of the first half and got their reward early in the second period.

Oleh Ocheretko slotted home the equaliser from close range after Palace failed to clear a corner.

However, the goal sparked Glasner’s men back into life.

Dmytro Riznyk produced a brilliant double save to deny Sarr and Mateta before the French striker hit the post from a long throw.

Shakhtar did not heed the warning as from Chris Richards’ next throw into the box, the ball broke kindly for Kamada to drill under Riznyk.

In their quest for an equaliser, Shakhtar were then picked off on the counter-attack.

Kamada picked out Strand Larsen, who coolly cut inside and chipped the onrushing Riznyk for his fourth goal since joining from Wolves.

Prior to shocking Manchester City in last season’s FA Cup final, Palace had never won a major trophy in their history.

Now they are the favourites to add a second in 12 months with Rayo Vallecano or Strasbourg awaiting the winners in the final in Leipzig on May 27.

“This is just an amazing group of people, of men, of characters and it’s with such a big great spirit,” added Glasner, who will leave Palace at the end of the season.

“There’s such a great togetherness and we always believe in us.”

Rayo edged the first leg of the other semi-final 1-0 in Spain.

What annoys me about situations like the Enzo Maresca one is that you will always see people fighting corners on one side, they rarely try to see both sides of a story. There are always two sides to a story. And whatever has happened with Enzo Maresca at Chelsea, will always be dependent on who is telling you what’s happened.

Chelsea will have their version of events, Maresca will have his. And many others will have different versions again somewhere in between.

I’ve never understood the Chelsea fan obsession with Maresca, anyone would have thought he had a Jose Mourinho effect at our club. He didn’t. He’s far from the worst manager we’ve ever had, but he’s certainly not close to the best either. The stanning of him and the revisionism is just weird. Yes, he helped us win the Club World Cup, and some things he did at Chelsea were good. But let’s not forget that under Maresca, on the whole, things were not that great either. He lost some of the dressing room as well, and fell out with certain people at the club, Bernardo Cueva being one of them I know about that has not been reported. He’s far from a saint. He was also clearly having his head turned by City and wanting to go there whilst he was still Chelsea head coach. So, Maresca did some good things at our club, but was also needs to take some blame for the toxicity that we experienced.

On the other side of that, if you ask Maresca, he will tell you he was treated poorly by Chelsea, and maybe he was to an extent. He earned a right really to get more of a say in football operations at the club. We all know that we needed a defensive revamp, something Maresca asked for and got ignored. And now look, Xabi Alonso is coming in and saying the same thing, and he is excepted to have that actioned. So Maresca certainly has some basis to feel aggrieved too. Maresca I do not think is a bad person at all, I think he’s probably just opinionated, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He was no longer their ‘yes man’.

There are ALWAYS two sides to a story, and people out there fighting a particular corner and only seeing tunnel vision on it right now, need to remember this.

All this chatter of Maresca going to Man City and what he did or didn’t do at Chelsea, and what Chelsea did or didn’t do, I literally couldn’t care less anymore. He’s gone, we’ve got Alonso in, we got two games left this season and a huge summer ahead. That’s where my focus is and all I care about right now. Maresca can do whatever he wants, I’m not interested anymore. No point creating more fan division, is there?

Which goal was the best?

Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia turned on the style to put Aston Villa firmly in the driving seat in the first half of Wednesday’s 3-0 Europa League final win over Freiburg.

Tielemans displayed incredible technique to open the scoring with a volley.

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Buendia then arguably outdid his teammate with a delicious swerving effort from outside the box.

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Morgan Rogers scored a tap-in in the second half to complete a commanding victory over the German side.

As the excitement builds towards this summers World Cup, it’s been reported by Matt Law that Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill are not expected to be named in England’s squad.

Injuries have hampered Palmer’s progress this season, and he hasn’t quite hit the heights anticipated. With only 13 goal contributions in 33 appearances across all competitions, it has been a frustrating campaign for the forward.

Unfortunately, inconsistent performances have likely contributed to his exclusion from Thomas Tuchels plans this summer. The depth of talent available in England’s attacking ranks means that players must be at their best to earn selection, and with Palmer not at his peak, it seems management opted for other options.

Colwill has faced a challenging season following a significant injury. The 23-year-old ruptured his ACL during pre-season training last summer, which sidelined him for a substantial portion of the year.

Since his return to the pitch, he has made just three appearances for the first team. Despite this limited exposure, he showcased his potential during Chelsea’s FA Cup final against Manchester City, where he completed the full 90 minutes in a match that ultimately ended in disappointment for the Blues.

However, in a decision that reflects concerns about his match fitness and overall readiness, Colwill was not included in the squad for the subsequent clash against Tottenham Hotspur. Interim manager Calum McFarlane opted to manage Colwill’s minutes carefully, focusing on ensuring his long-term fitness instead of pushing him back into the fray too quickly.

For Chelsea fans, the exclusion of both Palmer and Colwill is good news. Along with Joao Pedro not being selected for Brazil’s national team, it’s crucial for as many of our players as possible to take this summer to recharge and prepare for new incoming manager, Xabi Alonso.