Conference League gets real as Crystal Palace bid to turn dream into reality

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Evening Standard

·9 April 2026

Conference League gets real as Crystal Palace bid to turn dream into reality

Quarter-final against Fiorentina marks start of business end of competition

After a chaotic start to the new year, there looks to be light at the end of the tunnel for Crystal Palace as they set their sights on Europa Conference League glory.

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Palace’s season had threatened to derail after Oliver Glasner announced in January that he would not sign a new contract before launching into a series of scathing attacks around the club’s failure to build on last year’s FA Cup victory.

Captain Marc Guehi left for Manchester City, while Jean-Philippe Mateta made clear his desire to depart Palace in January - a move that did not materialise but caused considerable instability at a time of great uncertainty at Selhurst Park.

Winless in 12 games in all competitions from December through to February and knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Macclesfield, the momentum from their historic FA Cup win looked to be unravelling.

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But European glory has always remained the ambition and, while Palace have been far from sparkling in the Conference League, they have done just enough to keep themselves in contention.

Thursday’s quarter-final first-leg at home to Fiorentina represents another chance for Palace to make yet more history. This is the stage of the competition, after a burdensome league phase, where supporters can begin to dream.

Selhurst Park has not been a fortress for Palace in the Conference League, having won just two of their five home games in the competition, but there will be a febrile atmosphere.

Palace are still a long way from replicating the club record 19-game unbeaten run last season, but they are slowly regrouping and have been boosted by the return of top goalscorer Ismaila Sarr from the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Senegalese winger scored the goals to help Palace navigate a tricky last-16 tie against Cypriot side AEK Larnaca, will lead an attack against Fiorentina that will also welcome back the rehabilitated Mateta.

For much of their Conference League campaign, Palace supporters have looked disillusioned, distracted by Glasner’s comments, but also harbouring plenty of resentment towards UEFA for their demotion from the Europa League following a messy dispute with the governing body around their ownership model.

On Thursday, however, the lethargy of a season that threatened to lurch from crisis to crisis will be replaced by a fervour of excitement.

Win here and Palace can begin to face up to the prospect of what European success might look like for a club that were saved from liquidation as recently as 2010.