MADRID, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Rayo Vallecano produced the best result in the club's history on Thursday night with a 1-0 win away to Strasbourg, sealing a 2-0 aggregate victory in its Conference League semifinal and sending the south Madrid club into its first-ever European final.

Rayo will now play Crystal Palace in Leipzig on May 27, but before that game takes place, the team coached by Inigo Perez has made itself popular with several other La Liga clubs because Thursday's win means Spain is guaranteed to finish second in the UEFA coefficient rankings this season.

Spain has 22.093 points in the UEFA coefficient rankings, while Germany has 21.785. Bayern Munich's defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semifinal on Wednesday means that even if Freiburg beats Aston Villa in the Europa League final, it would not be enough for Germany to overtake Spain.

That means Spain will have eight teams in Europe for the second year running and five teams in next season's Champions League, widening the options for several clubs to play in Europe next season.

An immediate effect of Rayo's win is that Atletico Madrid, which is currently fourth in La Liga, has now secured its Champions League place along with FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villarreal.

Rayo has also done Betis a favor, with the Seville-based outfit currently fifth in La Liga and favorite to claim the final Champions League spot, although Celta Vigo, which is six points behind in sixth place, still has an outside chance of finishing fifth.

With Real Sociedad already assured of one of Spain's two Europa League places after winning the Copa del Rey, sixth place in the standings now brings the second Europa League spot, with Celta the favorite, while Getafe and Athletic Bilbao are three points behind and well placed to claim next season's Conference League berth, which will now go to the team that finishes seventh. Tenth-placed Osasuna also has a chance to get in on the act.

So while Rayo celebrates in its Madrid neighborhood, plenty of other fans also have reason to raise a glass to the club. ■