Thursday, May 28, 2026

Crystal Palace Wins Conference League

Crystal Palace won its first European trophy in the club’s 120-year history on Wednesday. The Eagles defeated Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in Leipzig Germany to win silverware in Manager Oliver Glasner’s final match in charge of the Premier League Club. Midfielder Adam Wharton, reportedly coveted by bigger clubs, dominated play for the Eagles in a seemingly direct response to his recent omission from England’s World Cup squad.

A shot by Wharton was parried by the Raya Vallecano goalkeeper into the path of the Eagles’ JP Mateta who proceeded to score the most meaningful goal in Crystal Palace history with a fortuitous, awkward but effective deflection off his upper leg. Mateta was not always as happy as he was during the post-match celebrations. The Frenchman went public with his desire to leave the Eagles’ nest during a dire midseason period for Palace which saw an extended winless run, the loss of club captain and star center back Marc Guehi in the January transfer window and the announcement that Glasner would leave at the end of this season.

Glasner, the disaffected manager, now leaves a historic legacy behind him in south London. In the last 375 days, Glasner has delivered An FA Cup win (over Manchester City in the final), a Community Shield (over Liverpool) and Wednesday’s Conference League championship. The European title caps a tumultuous season in which Glasner fell out with management in January when Marc Guehi was just the latest Crystal Palace star to move onto greener pastures.

Financial conservatism remains in vogue at Crystal Palace which has previously found itself in administration before being rescued by current Chairman Steve Parish. Parish has come under criticism, not just from Glasner but supporters who bemoan the stream of talents such as Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Guehi who have moved on form the club in recent years. Parish, however, has kept the Eagles in the Premier League for what will be a 14th consecutive season, a club record, and now has reached heights with Glasner that many Premier League observers never thought the mid to lower table club would ever reach.

Some credit needs to go to both men for persevering through their personal differences through the back half of this season to ultimately lift the trophy in Leipzig on Wednesday. The joy of Crystal Palace’s first European silverware far outweighed the angst experienced during a tumultuous season that saw Crystal Palace experience a winless run of 12 matches over December and January and their prized manager announce in January that he was leaving after the season, nastily indicting Parish for the club’s transfer policies. It seemed untenable that the two could co-exist for the balance of the season but a credit to both men that they did that very thing.

Glasner, for his part, is probably best suited to a richer club with higher ambitions. The Austrian, who once qualified the now relegated Bundesliga side Wolfsburg to the Champions League, also fell out with Eintracht Frankfurt ownership over ambition and transfer spending after winning a Europa League title for that German club. Glasner reportedly had a chance to move onto Bayern Munich at one point during his London stay but was contractually blocked by Crystal Palace.

The Crystal Palace victory marks the third time in five seasons that the Premier League has won the Conference League title; fellow London side Chelsea having claimed the silverware last season. The Premier League has also won the Europa Cup the last two years. Arsenal now has the chance on Sunday to win the Champions League and deliver a European treble to Europe’s strongest top to bottom league.

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Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Premier League Final: It’s A Wrap As Arsenal Hoists Trophy; Hammers Depart; Five Champions League Places; Sunderland Crashes The Europe Party; Chelsea Misses Out; Farewells At The Etihad

The Premier League title was decided a week earlier but Arsenal finished the job in style on Sunday with a 2-1 season ending victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The game was meaningless for a Crystal Palace club focused on its own potential trophy when the Eagles take on Rayo Vallecano for the Conference League title this Wednesday. Sunday was Arsenal’s time to celebrate and hoist the trophy which had proved so elusive after three consecutive second place finishes. The Gunners earned this title by being the more composed club down the stretch and getting the better of one-time tormentor Manchester City.

Like Crystal Palace, but on a grander stage, Arsenal will play one more time this season. The Gunners can double their trophy haul with a win against PSG in this coming weekend’s Champions League final.With both contestants focused on future matches, the game at Selhurst Sunday featured heavily rotated sides. Reflecting that approach, Arteta made 16-year-old Max Dowman the youngest starter in Premier League history.

The real on-pitch drama in Week 38 surrounded the fight for league survival between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur. West Ham finally scored some goals in a 3-0 win over a Leeds side which was already on the beach after a fine promotion season.

Unfortunately, it was too little, too late as Tottenham Hotspur also won, defeating Everton 1-0 and sealing Premier League relegation for West Ham. Joao Paulinha was the hero at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the loanee from Bayern Munich swept in the rebound of his own header which had hit the post in the 42nd minute.It was to be the only score of the game as Everton’s one shot on target was consistent with their season-long struggle to find the net. Only five clubs, including the three relegated sides, have scored fewer goals than the Toffees.

Tottenham Hotspur survives but the celebration is muted by an abysmal league performance for a second consecutive year just as its fiercest rival Arsenal wins the Premier League title. West Ham, meanwhile, could draw no satisfaction from its own final day victory as players remained on the pitch until the Spurs result went final and confirmed the Hammers’ fate.West Ham Manager Nuno Espirito Santo is expected to be gone, his contract evidencing the club’s early forecast of potential demotion. The agreement, signed last September, allowed Santo to walk or West Ham to sack him without compensation in the event of relegation.

Unlike Tottenham Hotspur ownership or players, Spurs Manager Roberto De Zerbi can take credit for his fireman like role in salvaging Spurs’ continued Premier League existence. The former Brighton and Marseilles manager rescued the sinking ship of interim manager Igor Tudor by winning twice and drawing twice in De Zerbi’s seven league matches in charge, earning just enough points for his club to eke out survival from the relegation rumble with West Ham.The Hammers go down after accumulating 39 points, just three points short of West Ham’s own dubious Premier League record for most points by a relegated team in a 38-match season.

Beyond relegation, the European picture was finalized on Sunday. Aston Villa came from behind to defeat Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad in Pep Guardiola’s final match in charge.City was understandably distracted by the enormity of saying farewell to not just Guardiola but two other club legends in Bernardo Silva and John Stones. Guardiola even admitted to the farewell celebration taking priority over the match itself, with normal starters such as Erling Haaland taking a bench seat for the match.Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins took advantage by taking target practice in advance of his upcoming England World Cup role. Watkins’ brace enabled Villa to retain fourth place in the Premier League standings.

Good for Aston Villa, but bad for the Premier League and Bournemouth. If Villa had dropped to fifth in the table, a sixth Champions League spot would have gone to Bournemouth, which drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest on Sunday.As it is, the Cherries are headed to the Europa League, sans their departing manager Andoni Iraola, to compete alongside another surprising Premier League club.

Sunderland, in its first season back in the Premier League after a meandering journey though the lower tiers of English football, will also be playing in the Europa League next season. The Black Cats defeated Chelsea 2-1 at the Stadium of Light to cap a remarkable promotion season which no one could possibly have expected. Expected to be a contender for a quick return to the second tier, the Black Cats made themselves comfortable in the top half of the table and finished the season in style, capping a four match unbeaten run with a Europe clinching home win over Chelsea. The Blues contributed to their own demise with an own goal and a red card.Chelsea will have additional time on the training pitch next season for new Manager Xabi Alonso to straighten out the mess at Stamford Bridge as Sunday’s result ensured that Chelsea will not have any European matches.Sunderland Manager Regis Le Bris deserves Manager of the Season consideration after leading the Black Cats to 54 points, 15 points above the drop line and sending the Cats to Europe for the first time in more than 50 years.

Brentford Manager Keith Andrews has also been mentioned for the Manager of the Season award, but the Bees agonizingly finished outside the European places on goal differential after a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Mohamed Salah had an assist in his final match in a Liverpool shirt as he said goodbye to supporters along with long time teammate Andy Robertson.Liverpool joins Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa in qualifying for the Champions League.

Brighton, finishing the season level on points with Brentford, qualified for the Europa Conference League by virtue of a superior goal differential to the Bees despite the Seagulls finishing the season with back-to-back losses.

Brighton were 2-0 losers at home to Manchester United as the Red Devils’ Bruno Fernandes broke the Premier League record with his 21st assist of the season and then capped his historic day by scoring his club’s final goal of the season. The Manchester United victory capped an impressive season for the club as interim Manager Micheal Carrick earned a full-time gig which was also announced on the weekend.

Mediocre seasons for Fulham and Newcastle ended with a 2-0 Cottager victory over the Magpies at Craven Cottage.

Burnley and Wolves, the two worst teams in the Premier League whose relegation has long been certain, ended their mutually repugnant seasons in fitting fashion by drawing with each other 1-1 at Turf Moor as they said goodbye to the Premier League.


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Friday, May 22, 2026

Premier League Championship Sunday

While the Premier League champion is already determined, there is much to be decided on Championship Sunday. Battles for Europe and the battle for Premier League survival will play out simultaneously on Sunday.

Four clubs are already assured of Champions League football. There is one more Champions League berth assured with the prospect that a sixth spot could be available. The European iterations include a potential sixth Champions League spot because Aston Villa is the Europa League champion, which comes with a Champions League ticket, after defeating Freiburg 3-0 on Wednesday.

The trick is that, under the convoluted voodoo of the UEFA qualification system, Villa must finish fifth for the Premier League to receive a sixth Champions League bid. The fifth “coefficient” based “bonus” slot, based on table position, would then pass to the sixth-place team in the Premier League while Aston Villa uses its Europa League Champion card for admission to Europe’s top competition next season.

Aston Villa would need to lose at Manchester City in Pep Guardiola’s final game as manager of the Citizens, and Liverpool defeat Brentford at Anfield for the Premier League to secure a sixth Champions League place. If those dominoes were to fall, either Bournemouth or Brighton would win the spot based on the results of their games on Sunday.

Bournemouth is currently sixth in the league as it travels to Nottingham Forest. The Cherries are three points ahead of seventh place Brighton, though they have an inferior goal disadvantage which could play into a tiebreaker should the Seagulls win at home versus Manchester United while Bournemouth loses at the City Ground. At worst, Bournemouth has already secured a Europa League spot at minimum and will play in Europe for the first time in the club’s 127-year history.

If Bournemouth wins by a wide margin against the Red Devils on Sunday, the Cherries could even finish fifth with a Liverpool loss should they be able to overcome an imposing six goal deficit in goal differential versus that of Liverpool.

Brighton, meanwhile, faces an enormously high-stakes match against Manchester United as the Seagulls could conceivably qualify for any of the three European competitions or be restricted to domestic play next season. A sixth-place finish and a possible Champions League berth is clearly a remote possibility for Brighton. However, the Seagulls could also lose out on the Europa League and Conference League competitions with a loss at home Sunday as Chelsea, Brentford and even tenth place Sunderland are in position to overtake the currently seventh place Seagulls. Essentially, absent an unlikely Champions League qualification, Brighton is in a four-team scramble for two European spots, one in the Europa League and one in the Conference League.

Currently, Brighton is two points ahead of tenth place Sunderland which has a must-win match at the Stadium of Light with Chelsea on Sunday. Chelsea currently occupies the eighth-place position which would receive a Conference League invitation. Brentford is level on points with Chelsea but has a four-goal deficit versus Chelsea in the goal differential tiebreaker entering the final day when the Bees visit Liverpool.

Crystal Palace may qualify for Europe for a second consecutive season, but it will have nothing to do with its currently poor Premier League table position and certainly nothing to do with Sunday’s game versus champion Arsenal. The Eagles will lock down a Europa League place should the Eagles win their Conference League title match next Wednesday versus Rayo Vallecano. A Crystal Palace victory would earn a Europa League place for next season and make the Eagles a ninth Premier League club to qualify for Europe.

Two other English clubs, meanwhile, are competing not for Europe but for their very Premier League survival. Tottenham Hotspur is clinging to a two-point advantage over West Ham in the tight race for Premier League survival near the bottom of the table. Both clubs have been awful this season and West Ham particularly has wilted under the pressure in recent weeks, failing to score a goal in three consecutive losses. The Hammers get one last chance when they host Leeds at London Stadium but will need Spurs to stumble versus Everton. A draw should be enough for Spurs to clinch survival even should West Ham win, based on a massive goal differential advantage.

Even further down the table is the most meaningless game of the final weekend as Burnley and Wolves will square off in what will mercifully be the final Premier League match for a while for the two already relegated sides. In a game of better clubs but still inconsequential consequences, Fulham will close out the season at Craven Cottage versus Newcastle. 

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