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Why 'sensational' Palace & Conference League are good fit

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Crystal Palace are now three games away from European glory

Almost a year ago Crystal Palace fans experienced a day they will have felt could never be topped.

On Saturday, 17 May 2025, their side famously beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup – a first major trophy success in their 120-year history as a professional club.

It was a once-in-a-life-time moment for those connected with the Eagles – but they will now be pinching themselves once again as they find themselves just one step away from a first major European final appearance.

Making their debut in this competition, Palace booked a meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Conference League semi-finals after overcoming Italians Fiorentina over two legs.

They lost the second leg on Thursday 2-1 but after winning the opener 3-0 at Selhurst Park, the fans who had travelled to Italy were determined not to let anything spoil their party.

Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson summed up the feeling as he told TNT Sports: "This is unbelievable for this football club, sensational when you think of the FA Cup last season and then to keep going and create a new chapter in the book.

"The togetherness in the group is phenomenal and at the business end of the season, we come together.

"We've just got to keep pushing on and build momentum."

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Crystal Palace fans travelled in big numbers to Fiorentina

When the Conference League was first introduced back in 2021 there were some who questioned the value of the competition.

But it has offered many teams the chance to do something they had never done before – win a major European trophy.

There were wild scenes of celebration when Roma became the inaugural winners, while the following year West Ham claimed a dramatic last-minute success against Fiorentina to end their 43-year wait for a major trophy.

Thousands gathered in the streets of east London to welcome back the victorious Hammers, underlining how much the win meant to the club and their supporters.

Palace fans will no doubt feel the same should their side go all the way and claim yet more silverware in a memorable 12 months.

Former Crystal Palace defender James Tomkins said on TNT Sports: "The last couple of seasons have been incredible.

"They never expected to be in a European competition a couple of seasons ago but now they are going from strength to strength in this competition.

"They will feel they can go all the way."

Midway through this season, though, it looked like things were derailing for Palace.

The man who had led them to their FA Cup triumph, Oliver Glasner, seemed on the verge of leaving after criticising the club's ownership in January for "abandoning" the team.

Palace were on a poor run of form at the time which had seen them drop down the table, while they finished 10th in the Conference League group phase.

On 16 January Glasner stated he would leave at the end of the season when his contract expired – an announcement that left Palace fans concerned about the rest of the campaign.

But after that confirmation and Glasner remaining in the post, the club's form steadily improved. After beating Zrinjski Mostar over two legs in their Conference League play-off, they have since beaten AEK Larnaca and now Fiorentina to reach the last four.

Key to their form in Europe has been striker Ismaila Starr, who scored his seventh goal in the competition in Thursday's 2-1 loss.

Five of those seven goals have come since February, while he has scored 17 in all competitions.

"The variety of goals he scores are key," said ex-Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott.

"He has always scored good goals but the less glamorous ones that are equally important, he has added them to his game."

Ismaila Sarr has scored seven goals in 10 Conference League games this season

Despite being debutants, Palace were installed as favourites to win the Conference League at the start of the season.

It took a while for them to live up to that tag, with many of their performances in Europe looking somewhat turgid.

But their 3-0 win against Fiorentina – two-time finalists in the Conference League – showed what they are capable of.

Next up for Palace is a two-legged semi-final with Shakhtar, with Strasbourg facing Rayo Vallecano in the other tie.

"They made light work of them [Fiorentina] really, but from here on in they will expect some really tough games, there is some good quality in the competition," added Tomkins.

"The question is whether they can bring the positivity from the first leg. That was the best I've seen them for a while, the three-week break did them the world of good and they looked like the team we saw early this season and last season."

The season will end with Glasner's departure, but it could also end with a European prize.

"Of course, that is what we all want," said the Austrian.

"We want to enjoy our life together, not just the football. The more successful you are, the more you enjoy your life.

"When you play the semi-final, you want to get it all at the end and that's what we will go for."

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Ministers braced as Mandelson document release will expose government working

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The appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to Washington is like a bad news boomerang for the government.

Over and over again the prime minister's most consequential judgement in office circles back into ministers' airspace – and today it will do with gusto.

It will be "another one of those weeks" one senior figure said, wearily.

The scale of what is to come will be quite something: the largest government publication ever put before the Commons, and therefore us, other than the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War – and that was a 12 volume, 2.6 million word affair.

It won't be on that scale, but it will run to over 1,000 pages. The first tranche, back in March, amounted to 147 pages.

Printed and bound, the publication will be made up of three volumes. More than 160 of the pages are made up of Lord Mandelson's text messages and WhatsApps.

The bundle will include a substantial explanation from the government of how much effort it took for officials to collate all the information parliament required the government to release, describing it as thousands of hours of work from officials.

In big picture terms, the documents will offer a fascinating internal insight, at scale, into how government works: the private interactions, information flows and disagreements.

Those with an understanding of how the embassy in Washington works describe it as being almost like a government department itself in size – and, crucially, with connections to so many aspects of the Whitehall government machine, given the importance of the UK-US relationship. This is particularly true on military and intelligence matters, much of which will likely be redacted from this document drop on national security grounds.

But what could it tell us about arguments relating to defence spending, or the row about the Chagos Islands for instance?

Folk in government are braced for the inevitable awkwardness of exchanges that they had assumed at the time would be forever private being catapulted into the light of day. Many of the messages are expected to reflect the reality that, at the time, Lord Mandelson was seen as one of the most influential powerbrokers in the Labour Party.

"Excruciating", "sycophantic" and "cringeworthy" are the words being used to describe some of them. Let's see.

The very human tone and tenor of messages – particularly on WhatsApp where text is so often a substitute for in the moment verbal conversation – is likely to stand out.

We understand a good number of cabinet ministers were lavish in their praise of Lord Mandelson immediately after he was sacked. Could there be some comparing and contrasting to be done between those messages, if they are in this tranche, and what any of those ministers have said publicly about him since? And what about criticisms made of the prime minister?

We are not expecting to see the vetting file compiled prior to the decision to send Lord Mandelson to Washington.

The Guardian has reported that the former ambassador's associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel were among the concerns raised by the vetting agency.

In April, Sir Olly Robbins, the former head of the Foreign Office, told MPs that he granted Lord Mandelson security clearance to take up his post as ambassador having put "mitigations" in place.

But it is not expected that today's documents will include any record of any measures taken to mitigate any security concerns.

The BBC understands Lord Mandelson doesn't believe there were any security concerns, wasn't asked to do anything to deal with any and there has been a muddling of key details relating to these claims.

There were separate concerns raised in the process about potential commercial conflicts of interest arising because of clients of Lord Mandelson's now defunct consulting firm Global Counsel.

These were dealt with by the deputy head of mission in the embassy overseeing any dealings with these companies, we are told.

By the end of today, from Downing Street's perspective, could they be through the worst of all this?

Yes, probably – but it won't be entirely over.

The police investigation into Lord Mandelson continues. He has repeatedly let it be known that he believes he has not acted criminally, did not act for personal gain and is cooperating with the police.

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.

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Girl, 13, dies in hospital after river rescue

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A 13-year-old girl has died after going missing in a river near a North Yorkshire beauty spot.

The teenager was reported missing at 18:30 BST on Sunday at the River Wharfe, near Burnsall, in the Yorkshire Dales.

She was found a short time later and rescued from the water, but despite efforts from members of the public and being taken to hospital in an air ambulance, North Yorkshire Police confirmed she had later died.

There have been at least 15 water-related deaths during the recent heatwave.

Burnsall is a village in Wharfedale, situated north of Skipton, and a popular destination for outdoor activities.

MP for Skipton and Ripon, Julian Smith, thanked emergency services and local residents who supported the rescue at the weekend.

In a social media post earlier, he said: "This morning all my thoughts, prayers and wishes are with the family of the young girl who died in Burnsall yesterday.

"I was so sorry and sad to hear this horrific and devastating news."

In South Yorkshire, the search for an 11-year-old boy missing after going into the River Don entered a third day Monday.

Emergency crews were called to Ferry Boat Lane, Mexborough, at about 20:00 BST on Saturday to reports a boy had entered the water but had not been seen getting out.

On Monday, South Yorkshire Police said extensive searches by specialist officers, an underwater search team and Mountain Rescue volunteers had resumed at first light, both in the river and on land.

The boy's family was being supported, the force added, and urged members of the public to stay away from the area to allow crews to carry out their work.

A 15-year-old girl from Cheshire died in hospital on Saturday after getting into difficulty in the sea off the coast of Merseyside on Bank Holiday Monday.

A woman in her 60s died on Saturday after she and a man got into difficulty after entering the water in Thornton Cleveleys to "rescue their dog". Lancashire Police said the man, also in his 60s, remains in a critical condition in hospital.

Meanwhile, a 19-year-old man died after being rescued from a lake in Nottinghamshire, and a body was found in the search for a man who got into difficulty in the water in the Norfolk Broads.

In South Yorkshire, emergency search crews remained at the scene overnight into Monday as they waited for first light to resume the search for a boy who was believed to have gone missing in the River Don.

Emergency crews were called to Ferry Boat Lane, Mexborough, at about 20:00 BST on Saturday to reports a boy had entered the water but had not been seen getting out.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

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Premier League record-holder James Milner retires after 24-year career

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Former England international James Milner has announced his retirement after a 24-year Premier League career.

The versatile 40-year-old was out of contract after spending the past three seasons with Brighton.

Milner played for six teams in England's top flight and broke the record for most Premier League appearances in February.

He started his career with Leeds and went on to win three Premier League titles – two with Manchester City and one with Liverpool – and also helped the Reds win the Champions League in 2019.

Latest Brighton news, analysis and fan views

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