Crystal Palace start their European adventure with a win

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Crystal Palace 1 -  0 Fredrikstad

Jean-Philippe Mateta delivered Crystal Palace’s first goal in European competition as they opened their Conference League campaign with a win over Fredrikstad.

Author | James Lees

Stadium | Selhurst Park

Conference League 25/26 play-off | Crystal Palace v Fredrikstad

The French forward settled a contest that mixed dominance with frustration for Palace, heading inside the far post after Will Hughes’s deflected strike dropped kindly in the area.

Eberechi Eze, the match-winner in last season’s FA Cup final, was absent with his move to Arsenal expected to be completed in the coming days. Without him, Palace controlled possession but often found themselves thwarted by Fredrikstad’s deep defensive line, which forced them into long-range efforts and attacks from the flanks.

Palace still carved out chances to extend their lead, with Mateta striking the post in the first half and Daniel Muñoz heading against the woodwork after the break. The Norwegian visitors offered fleeting reminders of their counter-attacking threat late on but struggled to escape their own third for long periods.

Palace throw in v Fredrikstad

Oliver Glasner’s side now take a slender lead into next Thursday’s return leg in Norway, where progress on aggregate would secure their place in the Conference League group stage.

How did we get here? 

Crystal Palace had anticipated a Europa League campaign after lifting the FA Cup in May, only to be relegated to the Conference League because of multi-club ownership regulations.

That setback did little to dampen the atmosphere at Selhurst Park, where Oliver Glasner’s side marked their debut in the competition with a hard-fought victory. Palace pressed relentlessly to prise open Fredrikstad’s defence, stretching play wide in search of openings, and Jean-Philippe Mateta finally broke through shortly after half-time.

Fredrikstad, though second best for long spells, will take comfort from the narrow margin as they look to overturn the deficit in next week’s return leg.

Manager reaction

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner told Channel 5 and other media outlet: "Goal number one is winning the game. We could see it wasn't going to be so easy. It was the game we expected, they played very deep and defended the box very well. There wasn't a lot of space.

Location: Selhurst Park Stadium, Holmesdale Rd, London SE25 6PU, UK

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