Crystal Palace squeeze scrappy Rayo Vallecano into submission to win Conference League | OneFootball

Live from the Leipzig Arena in Germany.

Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Crystal Palace

The fairytale ended a game early for Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League, with their trip to Leipzig proving a step too far against Crystal Palace in the final. Inigo Perez’s Rayo, noisy, bolshy, brazen – from the neighbourhood – have managed to rattle Spain’s best sides, but Palace found a way to keep themselves out of Rayo’s game.

It was a slow and deliberate start from Rayo, who held the ball where possible, as if both sides were conscious the differential factor could be allowing the Premier League side to break. Even deep in their own half, any turnover was quickly turned into a vertical attack by Palace. The Spanish side slowly edged their way forward though, and tentatively began forming the more dangerous attacks. A giveaway by Jaydee Canvot had Alvaro Garcia’s eyes light up, but he couldn’t see the cross past the first defender.

With 24 minutes gone, as both sets of fans roared at each other from opposite ends of the ground, the first chance was snuck into Alemao, but he couldn’t graze his effort inside the far post. The staccato rhythm was even more pronounced when play stopped in the 38th minute for a medical incident in the stands, neither side willing to buy a ticket to the lottery of open play.

Unai Lopez was the next to rasp a shot wide of the post, but the first big chance came on the stroke of half-time. Adam Wharton was the player who looked like he could measure that vertical pass, and his cross for Tyrick Mitchell seemed inch-perfect, but the English left-back, too keen, headed the ball before it got to him. Wide it went, as Oliver Glasner began his sprint down the line.

Moments into the second half, it was evident that there was a different tempo. Both sides tried to shift the ball quicker, but whatever conservativism Rayo showed in the first half, it became evident why. Wharton was given plenty of space to drive into, and when he did eventually shoot, Jean-Philippe Mateta reacted swiftly to knock in Batalla’s save seven minutes into the second period. Inigo Perez called for calm, pointing to his head, but Rayo were feeling the noise now. Florian Lejeune, until that point perfect, gave away a free-kick in a dangerous position as Palace pounced on a loose ball in the Rayo half. Yeremy Pino curled it gloriously over the wall, and it smacked the inside of the post. And the other post. Rayo scrambled it clear but only for a moment.

Glasner’s side smelled blood, and drove at the heart of the Rayo defence seeking to attack the wound. Pino squared the ball inside, and this time it was a sensational Batalla save from Mateta at close quarters. Sensing the urgency, Rayo pursued every ball with renewed intensity, and the Bukaneros increased the noise. Perez did too, sending on Pedro Diaz and Nobel Mendy for Oscar Valentin. Finally, 11 minutes after the goal, Rayo had a sustained attack in the Palace half.

If Daichi Kamada was fast becoming the key player for Palace, eluding the Rayo press at every turn, it was Isi Palazon the Spanish side needed. His disguised pass found Garcia free on the left, and while the cutback was blocked, Jorge de Frutos prodded only into the side-netting. With 20 minutes remaining, Rayo were beginning to find avenues forward, and got into dangerous positions. To a point, Palace allowed them to. Glasner now had Rayo in a vulnerable position, and time was ticking faster for Perez’s side.

Rayo were growing, but not quickly enough. Andrei Ratiu jinked, checked, cut and eventually shot from a tight angle on the right, but by the time he had, Dean Henderson had shut down the angle. A set-piece with eight minutes to go resulted in prodded shot from Sergio Camello, and while Palace were coming under pressure, they looked willing to allow Rayo to take their shot at breaking them down. Now it was Palace who sung, returning the game to the staccato rhythm, finding a victory in every tiny stoppage.

Perez’s side have made a made a name for themselves through their ability to catch bigger, weightier opponents out, to play with no inferiority complex. While Rayo could not be accused of being fazed by the occasion, if there was frustration for the giant-killers, it was they never swung with full force at Palace in the closing stages. Palace played with a supreme air of calm, as if the result was inevitable, it was only a matter of time before they bearhugged the scrappy Rayo into submission.