The UEFA Europa Conference League playoff round is here, and the first-leg matches were filled with surprises, struggles, and lots of goals. This round is always exciting because it’s the stage where clubs from the “Big Five” leagues—England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France—finally join the competition. Normally, you’d think these teams would cruise past smaller clubs, but Thursday’s games proved that football doesn’t work that way.
Let’s break down what happened in a way that’s easy to follow and fun for young football fans.
Fiorentina Handle Business in Style
Among all the big clubs, the one that really looked comfortable was Fiorentina from Italy’s Serie A. They played against Ukrainian side Polissia Zhytomyr, but because of the war in Ukraine, the match had to be played in Hungary.
Fiorentina won 3-0, and here’s how it went down:
Just eight minutes in, Moise Kean fired a shot that hit the post. It bounced back and accidentally went into the net off the goalkeeper’s head! Talk about unlucky for Polissia.
Robin Gosens doubled the lead before halftime.
Even though Kean got himself sent off for elbowing an opponent (never a smart move), Fiorentina stayed in control.
Albert Gudmundsson made it 3-0 midway through the second half.
This was the first time Fiorentina have ever won an away match in the Conference League qualifying rounds. Fun fact: Fiorentina are two-time finalists in this tournament, so they definitely know how to make deep runs.
Crystal Palace’s European Debut
Another special story was Crystal Palace. This was their first-ever European match in history! That’s right—despite being in the Premier League for many years, they had never played in Europe before.
Their debut ended in a 1-0 win over Norwegian Cup winners Fredrikstad at Selhurst Park. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the only goal just after halftime, giving Palace a small lead heading into the second leg in Norway.
It might not have been the most thrilling scoreline, but history was made for Palace fans.
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The Other Big League Clubs Struggle
Not every “Big Five” club had it easy. In fact, most of them had headaches:
Rayo Vallecano (Spain): They beat Neman Grodno 1-0, but it was very late in the game when they finally scored in the 77th minute. Neman are the only team left who started way back in the first qualifying round, yet they gave Rayo a really tough fight.
Strasbourg (France): They couldn’t score at all against Brøndby from Denmark, finishing 0-0. They created chances but wasted every single one.
Mainz (Germany): Probably the worst night among the big teams. They lost 2-1 to Rosenborg in Norway, with the winning goal coming in the 90th minute. For Rosenborg, it was their first big European win in years—they haven’t reached a group stage since 2019/20.
This shows that even though teams from the big leagues have famous names, these qualifying matches are no joke. Smaller clubs can be dangerous because they’ve already been through earlier rounds and are match-fit.
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Other Shocks in Europe
It wasn’t just the big clubs having problems. Some of Europe’s more experienced sides also got stung:
Rapid Wien (Austria), who made it to the quarterfinals last season, lost 2-1 to Hungarian side Győr.
Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey) also lost at home, going down 2-1 to CS Universitatea Craiova of Romania.
European football is always full of surprises. That’s what makes tournaments like the Conference League so unpredictable and fun.
Hacken Score Seven!
If you love goals, the best game of the night was in Sweden. BK Häcken crushed CFR Cluj of Romania 7-2. Yes, you read that right—seven goals in one game!
Five different players scored for Häcken, with Simon Gustafson and John Dembe both getting two goals each. CFR Cluj, a club that has plenty of European experience, looked completely out of their depth. This was one of the heaviest defeats they’ve suffered in recent memory.
Fun soccer fact: Häcken are quickly becoming one of the most entertaining attacking teams in Scandinavia, and this result puts them in a perfect position to reach the group stage.
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Other Big Matches
In Belgium, Anderlecht and AEK Athens drew 1-1, with AEK equalizing late through Niclas Eliasson.
In Scotland, Legia Warsaw shocked the home fans by beating Hibernian 2-1, with both goals coming in the first half.
Rematches From Last Year
Two ties in this playoff round were actually rematches from last summer’s Champions League first qualifying round. And once again, the same teams came out on top:
Shelbourne (Ireland) defeated Linfield (Northern Ireland) 3-1. Both sides missed penalties, but Shelbourne looked stronger overall, with goals from Harry Wood, Ademipo Odubeko, and Evan Caffrey. They are now very close to qualifying for the group stage for the first time ever.
Drita (Kosovo) beat Differdange (Luxembourg) 2-1 thanks to a late penalty by Bensik Krasniqi.
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Underdogs Making History
This playoff round could bring history for smaller nations:
Hamrun Spartans (Malta) won 1-0 against RFS (Latvia). If they advance, they would become Malta’s first-ever team to play in the group stage of a major European competition.
Virtus (San Marino) were dreaming of the same thing after scoring first against Breidablik of Iceland. Sadly, they couldn’t hold on and lost 2-1. Still, they’re keeping San Marino’s European hopes alive.
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A Hat-Trick Hero in Slovenia
One of the most impressive individual performances came from Imran Omar Oulad of FC Noah (Armenia). He scored a hat-trick in their 4-1 win against Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia. That’s a huge away victory, and it puts Noah in an amazing position to qualify.
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What’s Next?
The return legs will be played next week. Almost all of them will happen on Thursday, except for one—Riga FC vs Sparta Praha, which takes place on Wednesday. Sparta already lead 2-0 after the first leg, so they’ll be favorites to move on.
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Combo Takeaway
When you look at all these results together, a few things stand out:
Big league teams can’t relax—qualifying rounds are tough, and underdogs always believe.
Scandinavian clubs (like Häcken and Rosenborg) had a huge week, showing the strength of Nordic football.
New history is being written, with Crystal Palace’s debut and teams like Hamrun Spartans and Virtus chasing dreams for their countries.
Soccer fact: In European competitions, away goals no longer count double. That means every tie is wide open, and teams can’t just sit back and defend at home anymore.
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The Conference League may be UEFA’s “third tier” tournament, but it continues to deliver exciting stories, shocking results, and opportunities for clubs who usually don’t get the spotlight. With so much on the line in the second legs, next week promises even more drama.