Rayo Vallecano are going to Leipzig. A 1-0 aggregate win over Strasbourg, with Alemão scoring in both legs, sends the working-class Madrid club to the UEFA Conference League final for the first time in their 102-year existence.
It will be their second European competition ever, and their first final. Strasbourg pushed in the second half and had a penalty in stoppage time, but Ángel Batalla saved Enciso's spot kick to seal it.
Rayo never looked like conceding a second goal at Stade de la Meinau.
They will face Crystal Palace in Leipzig on May 27.
Strasbourg vs Rayo Vallecano Final Score: Rayo Vallecano Wins, 1-0
96' - Rayo Vallecano wins, 1-0
Rayo Vallecano will head to the UEFA Conference League final, where they will take on Crystal Palace. It'll be their first European competition final in their 102-year existence.
93' - Saved!
Rayo Vallecano's goalkeeper Augusto Batalla makes the save. It wasn't a great effort from Encisco, but all credit due to the Argentine.
92' - Strasbourg penalty
Handball in the Rayo box leads to Enciso taking a shot from the spot.
90' - Six minutes added time
Stoppage time added.
80' - Diego Moreira Yellow Card 🟨
The Belgian winger is shown the second card of the night.
75' - 15 minutes left
Strasbourg 0, Rayo 1 (agg. 0-2). Not many chances left for the Alsaciens.
67' - Penders is good
Penders has another stretching save that he had to reach for with his knees on the ground. The 20-year-old goalie has shown his quality in these semifinals.
59' - In the other game...
In the other UEFA Conference League semifinal, Crystal Palace are up 2-1 against Shaktar Donetsk. Palace are up 5-2 on aggregate and are almost certainly on their way to the final.
51' - Mike Penders has massive save
Penders pushed away a dart from Isi.
51' Mike with a big save on Palazón!#UECL #RCSARVM (0-1)
— Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace English (@RCSA_English) May 7, 2026
46' - Second half begins
Sebastian Nanasi replaces Ben Chilwell on Strasbourg. Expect more changes to come if they're unable to score soon.
45' - Halftime - Strasbourg 0, Rayo 1
The teams head to the locker room as Rayo has a 0-1 lead at Stade de la Meinau. The Spanish side will almost certainly be content to condense into their half of the field and wait for attacks.
41' - Rayo Vallecano Score
Alemao gets the rebound off Mike Penders and puts it away. That puts Rayo up 0-2 on aggregate.
Alemão reacts quickest to the rebound to double Rayo’s lead on aggregate 💥 pic.twitter.com/30xMWJu695
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 7, 2026
39' - Strasbourg need more from Enciso
The Paraguayan forward is the most dynamic player on the French side, and he'll have to be the one that makes a difference at some point if they're going to have a chance.
32' - No shots for Strasbourg
No shots for the Alsaciens yet, while Rayo have recorded 10 so far. Things are looking good for the blue-collar Spanish club right now.
25' - Ben Chilwell Yellow Card 🟨
Chilwell pulls on De Frutos and has been shown a yellow card.
17' - Free-kick optimism
Florian Lejeune tried for the valiant goal with a free kick from outside the box. The ball went wide left and Penders barely had to move.
10' - Rayo dominating possession
Ten minutes into this match and Rayo has 60-percent possession, and the only two shots in the game.
1' - We're underway in Strasbourg
The crowd at the Stade de la Meinau is ready, and the UEFA Conference League semifinal has started. Rayo leads on aggregate 1-0.
0' - Strasbourg 0, Rayo 0 (Aggregate 0-1)
Follow along for live updates as Strasbourg host Rayo Vallecano.
Strasbourg Lineup vs Rayo Vallecano
- Strasbourg (3-4-1-2): Penders; Doué, Omobamidele, Chilwell; Moreira, El Mourabet, Doukouré, Ouattara; Barco; Godo, Enciso
- Subs: Kerckaert, Johnsson, Høgsberg, Becker, Amougou, Oyedele, Rafael Luís, Amo-Ameyaw, Nanasi, Yassine, Kodia Ladji, Bosey
Rayo Vallecano Lineup vs Strasbourg
- Rayo Vallecano (4-3-3): Batalla; Rațiu, Lejeune, Ciss, Chavarría; López, Valentín, de Frutos; Isi, Alemão, Akhomach
- Subs: Molina, Cárdenas, Espino, Balliu, Mendy, Gumbau, Trejo, Pedro Díaz, Álvaro García, Camello
Rayo Vallecano Rude Awakening
The people of Strasbourg made their presence known at about 2:00 a.m. local time last night with a cavalcade of fireworks.
Anoche se empeñaron en que no descansáramos en Estrasburgo.
— Rayo Vallecano (@RayoVallecano) May 7, 2026
Hotel de concentración del Rayo Vallecano.
02:00 horas. pic.twitter.com/zVKuDV53Lb
Alemao's Winner From First Leg
Alemão's first-leg winner 💥#UECL | @RayoVallecano pic.twitter.com/w5rX6ODDiZ
— UEFA Conference League (@Conf_League) May 7, 2026
UEFA Conference League Semifinals
Thursday, May 7
- Strasbourg vs Rayo Vallecano - Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg (Rayo lead 1-0 on aggregate)
Thursday, May 14
- Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk - Selhurst Park, London (Palace lead 3-1 on aggregate)
UEFA Conference League Final
Wednesday, May 27
- Leipzig, Germany - Red Bull Arena
How to Watch Strasbourg vs Rayo Vallecano in the USA
- Strasbourg vs Rayo Vallecano is available in the United States on Paramount+ and ViX. The match kicks off at 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 7.
- In the United Kingdom, the match is available on TNT Sports 5 and HBO Max.
Strasbourg Squad 2026
- 39 - Mike Penders - GK
- 1 - Karl-Johan Johnsson - GK
- 60 - G. Kerckaert - GK
- 50 - Stefan Bajić - GK
- 22 - Guéla Doué - DEF
- 6 - I. Doukouré - DEF
- 7 - Diego Moreira - DEF
- 24 - L. Høgsberg - DEF
- 3 - Ben Chilwell - DEF
- 2 - A. Omobamidele - DEF
- 5 - A. Anselmino - DEF
- 45 - Amadou Cissé - DEF
- 35 - Yoann Becker - DEF
- 19 - Julio Enciso - MID
- 32 - Valentín Barco - MID
- 11 - S. Nanasi - MID
- 18 - Junior Mwanga - MID
- 29 - S. El Mourabet - MID
- 8 - Maxi Oyedele - MID
- 17 - M. Amougou - MID
- 83 - Rafael Luís - MID
- 34 - Idrissa Sabaly - MID
- 28 - Tyrese Noubissie - MID
- 10 - E. Emegha - FWD
- 9 - J. Panichelli - FWD
- 27 - S. Amo-Ameyaw - FWD
- 80 - G. Yassine - FWD
- 42 - A. Ouattara - FWD
- 15 - Datro Fofana - FWD
- 20 - Martial Godo - FWD
- 33 - Jean Bosey - FWD
- 34 - Y. Diémé - FWD
Rayo Vallecano Squad 2026
- 13 - Ángel Batalla - GK
- 1 - Dani Cárdenas - GK
- 30 - Juanpe - GK
- 40 - Adrián Molina - GK
- 2 - Andrei Rațiu - DEF
- 24 - Florian Lejeune - DEF
- 16 - Abdul Mumin - DEF
- 22 - Pacha Espino - DEF
- 3 - Pep Chavarría - DEF
- 20 - Iván Balliu - DEF
- 33 - J. Vertrouwd - DEF
- 32 - Nobel Mendy - DEF
- 5 - Luiz Felipe - DEF
- 26 - Marco De Las Sías - DEF
- 7 - Isi Palazón - MID
- 6 - Pathé Ciss - MID
- 17 - Unai López - MID
- 23 - Óscar Valentín - MID
- 4 - Pedro Díaz - MID
- 11 - Randy Nteka - MID
- 15 - G. Gumbau - MID
- 8 - Óscar Trejo - MID
- 28 - Samu Becerra - MID
- 18 - Álvaro García - FWD
- 19 - Jorge De Frutos - FWD
- 9 - Alemão - FWD
- 21 - Fran Pérez - FWD
- 10 - Sergio Camello - FWD
- 14 - Carlos Martín - FWD
- 12 - Ilias Akhomach - FWD
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