Crystal Palace began their 2025/26 campaign continuing the scintillating form that saw Oliver Glasner's side achieve FA Cup glory last season. Their impressive performances has seen Palace extend their unbeaten streak to 14 in all competitions.
The Eagles started the new season a week earlier, as they faced Liverpool in their first ever Community Shield tie.
Once again, the Austrian brought silverware to South London as Palace followed up their historic FA Cup win of May with a Community Shield beating the Premier League champions in a penalty shootout. The result meant Palace were the first Community Shield debutants to win the trophy in 50 years.
In the Premier League, Palace have remained unbeaten so far, drawing twice before victory against Aston Villa.
The opening game saw a 0-0 at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea with the nw departed Eberechi Eze having a freekick disallowed harshly for the second season in a row on the opening day. A tense affair versus Nottingham Forest played out a 1-1 draw, before a first win of the season at Villa Park ensued with Palace running rampant to defeat the Villans 3-0.
Following European demotion because of multi club ownership rules, Palace were also in action against Norwegian side Fredrikstad in the UEFA Conference League play-off phase where they won 1-0 on aggregate to secure league phase qualification.
Written by William Fortune
The third gameweek of the season saw Palace travel to Birmingham to face Unai Emery’s Villans.
These two sides played four times last season with Palace winning three of the four including a win at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final.
Jean-Philippe Mateta made it 1-0 in the 21st minute, firing the ball into the bottom left corner to send Marco Bizot the wrong way from the penalty spot, after the Villa goalkeeper had taken down Daichi Kamada.
The Frenchman’s usual boom celebration of kicking the corner flag saw him get booked with it being deemed over the top.
Marc Guehi made it 2-0 in the second half with a stunning curled strike from just inside of the area which found the top corner.
Ismaila Sarr’s impressive record against Villa continued as he scored again with a header in the six-yard area.
A first league win of the season also saw Yeremy Pino make his debut from the bench but there was slight cause for concern with Adam Wharton and Sarr forced off at Villa Park with suspected knocks.
Written by William Fortune
After lifting two pieces of silverware for the Eagles, the club captain has had a solid start to his fifth season in South London.
For much of August there were heavy links that he would leave the club for Liverpool with his contract expiring at the end of the season.
Palace eventually blocked the move on deadline day, opting to keep their captain.
Guehi has typically been the left centre-back in Glasner’s back three and he has been part of a defence who kept four clean sheets in August.
The England international got on the scoresheet at Villa Park with a curled effort that found the top right corner.
The 25-year-old has played every minute this season and been pivotal in defensive and attacking play. From the opening three league games he has an exceptional pass accuracy of 84.6% while he has won 80% of his tackles.
Where has August left Palace?
Crystal Palace's Community Shield success saw the Eagles earn their second trophy in just three months as Oliver Glasner's side continue to break boundaries for the South London club.
Further history was made when Palace embarked on their first ever major European campaign, defeating Fredrikstad to qualify for the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.
The unbeaten form to start the season sees Palace sit at 8th in the Premier League table in contention for the European places at this very early stage of the season.
With Palace qualifying through to the next stage of the UEFA Conference League, the Eagles will have an additional six matches to play, increasing an already hectic schedule. The additional workload will mean Glasner will have to rotate his side in order to compete on all fronts, with domestic cup campaigns also on the horizon.
The Eagles will hope that they are able to sustain their momentum over the increased matches in order to flourish in all departments.
Key Takeaway - Delayed Transfer Business Overshadows Palace
Written by William Fortune
Oliver Glasner had mentioned on numerous occasions that it was essential for Palace to get business done early.
However, this did not happen, and Palace could have been more proactive in the window.
Last summer Crystal Palace made four signings in the final two days of the window, Trevoh Chalobah, Matt Turner, Eddie Nketiah and Maxence Lacroix and this year three signings were made in the final four days with Pino, Christantus Uche and Jaydee Canvot all arriving in South London.
Last season saw Palace start slowly with time needed to integrate the new signings, resulting in the Eagles only winning their first league game at the end of October.
This international break Glasner would not have been able to do a lot of work with his players as Uche and Canvot were away, and Pino has been recovering from injury.
The lack of new signings has left Palace with a lack of depth despite an intense fixture list, and may have contributed to the injuries sustained for Wharton and Sarr.
Eberechi Eze’s departure without a replacement Glasner utilising Justin Devenny out of position, while Jefferson Lerma and Daichi Kamada have been used in secondary roles already this season.
With more games this season, a bigger squad to be able to rotate has been more necessary than ever.
What is Next?
Written by William Fortune
Crystal Palace have four games to look forward to in the month of September.
After the international break Palace host the newly promoted Sunderland for the first time since February 2017.
Then will come midweek action in the third round of the EFL Cup against South London rivals Millwall. The Eagles have bragging rights after victory in the Fifth Round on their way to the historic FA Cup success. win in. Due to the European qualification Palace received a bye in the second round.
The fifth league game of the season sees Palace travel to East London against West Ham. The Eagles will then face Liverpool at Selhurst Park, hoping to repeat their recent triumph in the Community Shield.