Group stage match one: Manchester City (H) – 3-3
26/08/25 | Oduro, Casey, Drakes-Thomas
Palace opened their Premier League Cup campaign with an entertaining 3-3 draw against Manchester City. The young Eagles were outstanding in the first half, racing into a 3-0 lead through Stuart Oduro, Benji Casey and Joel Drakes-Thomas, only for City to mount a stunning second-half comeback.
Casey recalled: “First game of the competition, against Man City – it finished 3-3. I scored, Stuart scored, Joel scored.
We started the game really well, especially the first half. We were 3-0 up, pressing high, winning second balls, creating chances, working hard as a team.
But with big teams like City, if you don’t start the second half strong, they’ll come back – and they did. They scored three goals.
I think we just got tired, it was early in the season, and we couldn’t keep that momentum. At the same time, it showed we can challenge teams like Man City.”