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Chelsea have laid the blueprint for how English sides should be able to dominate in the Conference League, although Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner does not believe it’s a fair playing ground for all.
Enzo Maresca’s side at the time completely dominated Europe’s third-tier competition, culminating in their 4-1 victory over Real Betis in the final.
This season though, Crystal Palace have found things far more difficult, having to go through a play-off tie against Zrinjski.
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Oliver Glasner doesn’t think the Conference League is as easy for English teams as Chelsea made it
Glasner, who is really not enjoying his time at Selhurst Park at the minute, rejects the opinion that all Premier League sides should dominate the competition like Chelsea did, and believes the Blues’ finances and squad depth as an advantage they had.
He told Hayters TV: “I think when a team from the Premier League plays in the Conference League, then the expectation is you win it, but I think the market value as soon as you play in the Premier League, it raises your market value.
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“But I see a difference. Again, Chelsea played last year, and I think they had 42 players in their squad last year. They could rotate easily. Almost £2bn they’ve spent in the last couple of years. I think they were better prepared than Crystal Palace. No criticism, please don’t write it up, it’s normal.
“For Crystal Palace, it’s new, and we finished 13th, whereas Chelsea finished differently. And I mentioned it – other teams like West Ham, they were struggling in the league.”
It is true that Chelsea did not have to use their strongest players for the majority of the campaign in the Conference League. Cole Palmer wasn’t even named in the group stage squad.
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While Palace were the favourites before the competition began, that role may now have been taken by fellow BlueCo club Strasbourg.
Liam Rosenior started a group stage campaign that saw them finish top of the group, with a win over the Premier League side in there too.
The Blues will have a keen eye on how the Ligue 1 side get on due to the fact a number of their players are already poised for careers at Stamford Bridge.
Mike Penders and Emanuel Emegha are already definitely coming at the end of the season, with a number of other players clearly on their radar.
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