Crystal Palace defender Chadi Riad has insisted they knew they were going to be successful this season, despite a poor start to the campaign.
The defender has been speaking to EFE, [relayed by El Desmarque](https://www.eldesmarque.com/futbol/real-betis/20250519/chadi-riad-pendiente-campeon-fa-cup-crystal-palace_300669978.html), about Crystal Palace’s season and their FA Cup win on Saturday.
The Eagles won the first major trophy in their history on Saturday afternoon when they beat Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final.
It was a superb afternoon from Oliver Glasner’s side, who were fully deserving of the win over Manchester City, which capped off a run to the final that had already see them beat Champions League chasing Aston Villa in the semi-finals.
Few would have predicted the season would have ended this way after a difficult start meant that by November, they were in the midst of their worst ever start to a Premier League campaign.
At that point they were only one place off the bottom having picked up fewer points than Leicester and Ipswich, who have both been relegated.
They turned things around and have now ended their wait for a trophy too, and Riad insists they all saw that coming despite their problems.
_“The truth is that what we’re experiencing is very, very exciting, because everyone knows how hard we’ve been working, trying hard, training every day,”_ he said.
_“And the truth is that we’re very, very, very happy because it’s the club’s first trophy in its history. We knew the quality of the team, how good the players were, and how supportive the fans were._
_“And yet, despite having a poor start to the season, we knew we were going to achieve great things, like this trophy, for example.”_
Riad has played a bit part role in proceedings at best after arriving from Real Betis in the summer transfer window.
That’s been thanks to two serious injury, with a knee injury suffered August followed by a cruciate ligament injury that’s expected to keep him out until next year.
He’s disappointed by that but admits it’s only helped him to improve and learn his weaknesses for the future.
_“The truth is, it’s tough to have two serious injuries in the same year, but it’s helped me learn, work on my weaknesses, improve, and thank my teammates for all the support they’ve given me, which has made everything much easier,”_ he added.