Crystal Palace continues its impressive run this season - Photo: REUTERS
Don't be surprised by Crystal Palace
Their fifth-place position in the league table, just one point behind fourth-placed Chelsea, doesn't fully reflect Crystal Palace's potential. They are also the reigning FA Cup champions, Community Shield holders, and representatives of English football in the Conference League.
Therefore, don't be surprised if, at the end of this season, Crystal Palace pockets a cup title and secures a place in next season's Champions League. If English teams continue to perform well in European competitions, the Premier League will have five Champions League spots next season. This further motivates "dark horses" like Crystal Palace.
At the start of this season, Crystal Palace suffered a major injustice when they were relegated from the Europa League to the Conference League because their owner, John Textor, also owned another club, Lyon, which had qualified for the Europa League. UEFA does not allow two clubs with the same owner to participate in the same competition. Furthermore, because Lyon had a higher ranking in their domestic league (Ligue 1) than Crystal Palace in the Premier League, the English club had no choice but to concede.
The turning point was named Marc Guehi.
Also this summer, Crystal Palace agreed to sell star player Eze to Arsenal for €70 million – a significant sum to reinvest in the transfer market. The management used almost all of this money to buy new stars like Pino and Canvot… In addition, owner Textor sought to divest from the club to avoid a repeat of the "joint venture" with Lyon like last season.
Finally, there was the shock in the transfer market at the "last minute," when manager Oliver Glasner demanded to resign because the team was considering selling captain Marc Guehi to Liverpool. Glasner's determination helped Crystal Palace retain Guehi for another season. And the Crystal Palace captain proved extremely professional, continuing to play his heart out.
Few could have predicted that at that time, the turning point of the season would appear. By September, Liverpool, short of defensive players (due to failing to sign Guehi) and facing other problems, were in a severe crisis. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace surged ahead.
And now, fans suddenly realize that manager Glasner truly possesses a formidable squad, approaching the Premier League's top teams in quality. According to Transfermarkt, Crystal Palace's star-studded squad is valued at €485 million, only slightly less than Aston Villa, a team that has fiercely competed to join the top group in recent seasons. They are also one of the youngest teams in the league, with an average age of just 25.5.
The final factor is ambition. To join the ranks of the big clubs, high performance for one or two seasons is simply not enough.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/crystal-palace-tham-vong-den-dau-20251207094255207.htm
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