Shock in France as Rayo Vallecano (and not Strasbourg!) will face Crystal Palace in Leipzig

By Alessandro Schiavone in Strasbourg

Conference League semifinal second-leg

Strasbourg 0-1 Rayo Vallecano (0-2 on aggregate)

Goal: Alemão 42'

Crystal Palace can breathe a sigh of relief as they avoided a reunion with Strasbourg in the final of the UEFA Conference League with Madrid minnows Rayo Vallecano now awaiting them in Leipzig.

The Spaniards got the job done at La Meinau, where the Eagles lost 2-1 in the group stages nearly six months ago.

It was only 1-0 but it could have been six or seven to the good for Iñigo Martinez's men had it not been for Chelsea loanee Mike Penders who was outrageous in goal and fully justified the 'new Courtois' label.

Maybe it would be worth looking at bringing him back this summer given how regularly the Blues have been let down by Filip Jorgensen and Robert Sanchez this term.

The 20-year old was outstanding in that he kept the scoreline respectable with a flurry of top-drawer stops either side of half-time.

There was little he could have done however to keep out Alemao's tap-in winner after denying Lejeune's volley from range three minutes before the break.

After the break, right-back Guela Doué missed a golden opportunity one-on-one with Batalla which his brother Desire would have buried in his sleep.

That proved costly.

After losing the first-leg 1-0 in Spain, the hosts had the chance to reopen the tie late on but Enciso saw his penalty saved deep in injury time. That was it.

Hence Chelsea's sister and satellite club, who were tipped as the odds-on favourites to reach at least the final before the tournament kicked off, will have to prematurely wave goodbye to the competition.

It looked as if the absence of coffee for reporters in the press lounge extended to the pitch. It was yawn, yawn.

Deprived of crocked attacking duo Panichelli and Emegha, Strasbourg's players looked sleepy, jaded, rusty and out of their depth to play in a European final which Olivier Glasner's men are now expected to win against el club pequeño de Madrid.

All while city rivals Atletico Madrid are licking their wounds following their Champions League exit at the hands of Arsenal on Tuesday and Real Madrid players physically having a go at each other.