So, here’s our round-up of the very best of the year…
Palace’s Under-21s 2025 Wrapped: The Best Games, Goals & Moments
It’s been a year to remember for our Under-21s. From a thrilling run into the Premier League 2 play-offs, to standout nights in the Premier League International Cup and a wave of Academy players stepping onto the senior stage, 2025 certainly delivered plenty of moments to savour.
Greatest Games
If there was one defining trait of Palace's U21s across 2025, it was their refusal to accept defeat. Time and again, Darren Powell’s young Eagles dug deep, flipped games on their head and delivered performances built on character, resilience and belief.
The back end of the 2024/25 Premier League 2 campaign was where it truly ignited. In the penultimate away fixture of the league phase, Palace travelled to face Manchester City knowing every point mattered in the push for the play-offs.
Trailing 2-0 at half-time at the City Football Academy, the young Eagles showed their enduring belief. Rio Cardines sparked the comeback, Hindolo Mustapha continued his incredible scoring run, and Dylan Reid completed the turnaround with a composed finish to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory that kept Palace firmly in contention.
Watch the highlights from Palace vs Manchester City, below!
That drama was only the beginning. On a warm April evening in East London, Palace headed to West Ham United for their final away game of the campaign.
Once again, they trailed at half-time. Once again, they refused to fold. Two equalisers in the second half kept the contest alive before an extraordinary finale unfolded. In stoppage time, Palace struck three times to run out 5-2 winners – relentless, ruthless and the perfect summary of this side’s spirit.
Watch the highlights of Palace vs West Ham, below!
April also delivered even sweeter success. Few wins mean more than beating fierce rivals Brighton, and Palace did just that with a committed 3-1 victory.
On a perfect spring evening, Mustapha opened the scoring with a stunning strike, Franco Umeh finished instinctively to extend the lead and Caleb Kporha sealed the result with a brilliant solo effort.
Watch the highlights of our thumping victory over Brighton, below!
If that felt like a high point, Palace raised the bar again by dismantling Chelsea 6-0 at the VBS Community Stadium to book a place in the Premier League 2 play-off semi-finals.
From the first whistle, the young Eagles were relentless. Mustapha struck twice, Ademola Ola-Adebomi added a brace, while Cardines and Zach Marsh also found the net in one of the most complete team performances of the year.
Watch the highlights of us battering Chelsea, below!
The semi-final itself ended in heartbreak. Facing Southampton under the Selhurst Park lights, Palace pushed all the way before falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat, with late efforts striking the woodwork as penalties agonisingly slipped away. Despite the disappointment, the performance reflected enormous credit on the group.
The 2025/26 season began with the same sense of drama. In the Premier League 2 curtain-raiser at the VBS Community Stadium, Palace welcomed Leeds United and produced a moment to remember. With the scores level deep into stoppage time, Reid delivered one of his trademark inswinging corners and Luke Browne rose highest to power a towering header into the bottom corner, sealing a 3-2 victory.
For the most complete performance of the new campaign, Halloween night away at Aston Villa stands out. Palace controlled long spells and broke the deadlock when George King cleverly redirected Benji Casey’s volley with a flicked header. That momentum carried into the second half, and Marsh calmly slotted home one-on-one to seal a controlled 2-0 win.
The year concluded with two defining Premier League International Cup fixtures. Palace claimed their first win in the competition with an impressive 3-1 victory over Juventus.
Adler Nascimento opened the scoring with a cushioned volley, Seb Williams doubled the lead with a crisp finish and Casey capped the half by scoring his first goal since stepping up from the U18s for Powell’s side. Although Juventus pulled one back late on, Palace held firm, helped by a superb goal-line block from King.
Watch the highlights of our statement victory over Italian giants Juventus, below!
That result set up a thrilling encounter with group leaders FC Nordsjaelland, and once again Palace delivered. Reid opened the scoring by following up his blocked free-kick, Casey doubled the lead by lifting the ball over the onrushing 'keeper and Reid added a third from the spot.
Despite late pressure and a stoppage-time goal, Palace held on for a vital 3-2 win that left their International Cup fate firmly in their own hands.
Watch us seal a must-win victory over FC Nordsjaelland, below!
Greatest Goals
With so much attacking quality on show, it is little surprise that 2025 delivered a catalogue of stunning goals across competitions.
The Academy’s 24/25 Goal of the Season nominations began with Mustapha’s sensational volley against Brighton. After excellent work from Kporha, Umeh and Cardines, the ball fell perfectly for Mustapha, who lashed an unstoppable volley past the helpless Brighton 'keeper to ignite the rivalry.
Watch Mustapha's goal, below!
The 6-0 win over Chelsea produced several contenders, but the opener stood out. Just under ten minutes in, Mustapha collected a flick-on from Ademola Ola-Adebomi and unleashed a ferocious 20-yard strike that was in from the moment it left his boot.
Watch another of Mustapha's sensational goals, below!
Moving into 25/26, Nascimento produced a moment of individual brilliance in the 3-3 draw with Bromley in the EFL Trophy. Cutting inside from distance, the winger bent a powerful effort that bounced awkwardly in front of the 'keeper before looping into the side-netting.
Watch Nascimento's stunner through the highlights, below!
Even in defeat, Palace continued to produce moments of magic. Against Manchester United, league leaders at the time, Asher Agbinone struck a superb right-footed effort into the very top corner.
See Agibinone's thunderbolt, below!
Romain Esse added another standout against Birmingham City, reacting quickest to a loose ball before curling a sublime 20-yard strike into the far corner with the side of his left foot.
Watch Esse's goal, below!
The Premier League International Cup clash with FC Nordsjaelland also delivered goals of the highest quality, none better than Reid’s free-kick rebound. Seeing his initial effort blocked by the wall, the midfielder reacted instantly to smash the loose ball through a crowd of players and into the net.
See Reid's goal, below!
Greatest Moments
Goals and results only tell part of the story. It is the moments – the pressure, the bravery and the breakthroughs – that truly define a year, and 2025 delivered them in abundance.
Chronologically, few moments were more dramatic than the late winner away at Manchester City.
Deep into stoppage time, with Palace still chasing the game, Mustapha’s perfectly timed press forced an error from the City defence.
The ball broke into Reid’s path and, with space opening up, he took two composed touches before firing low into the bottom corner. It completed an astonishing comeback and perfectly captured the belief running through this group.
Watch the drama unfold, below!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dylan Reid's last-minute winner in all it's glory 🤩<a href=" | <a href=" <a href="; Crystal Palace F.C. Academy (@CPFCAcademy) <a href=" 18, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="" charset="utf-8"></script>
Then came the unforgettable finale at West Ham. As seven minutes of added time were signalled, Palace sensed opportunity rather than pressure...
Umeh struck to put the young Eagles ahead and the game exploded. West Ham left spaces, and Palace attacked them ruthlessly. Ola-Adebomi added a fourth before substitutes Williams and Joe Gibbard combined moments later for a fifth. It was one of the most extraordinary finishes of the season.
The demolition of Chelsea in the play-off quarter-final was another defining night. Palace were dominant from start to finish, and when Marsh struck, it felt like the final stamp on a 6-0 victory that sent the young Eagles emphatically into the semi-finals.
Beating Brighton 3-1 also stands as a shining highlight, not least because it crowned an outstanding individual season for Mustapha. He finished the 24/25 campaign with 11 goals and seven assists, earning a nomination for Premier League 2 Player of the Season.
His form earned him a first senior call-up to the Sierra Leone national team, where he scored in just his second appearance during an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia.
He also featured in Palace’s first-team squad during a mid-season friendly, collected a Premier League 2 Player of the Month nomination, and won our U21 Player of the Season Award.
The new season delivered its own defining moments. Marsh’s hat-trick against Tottenham set the tone early, while Browne’s stoppage-time header against Leeds United brought the VBS Community Stadium to life.
Kaden Rodney’s emphatic penalty against Stoke City – thundered in off the underside of the crossbar – rescued a point in the final league game of 2025 as Palace fought back from two goals down.
Above all, 2025 was a year that showcased what the Academy is truly about: opportunity, development, and progression.
Cardines made his senior debut during Palace’s historic first European away win against Dynamo Kyiv.
The year closed with a moment that perfectly captured the Academy’s mission. Casey, travelling with fellow graduate Joel Drakes-Thomas, stepped onto the European stage to make his senior debut in the Eagles Conference League victory over Shelbourne FC. Eight minutes. One unforgettable night.
The following week, Palace fielded their youngest side since 1982, with no fewer than four Academy graduates in the starting XI – three of them making their senior debuts. Among them were King, Dean Benamar, and Drakes-Thomas, all of whom had become U21 regulars just this season.
It was the first time that three Academy debutants started a first-team match for Palace. While three Academy players had previously debuted in the same game – during the 3–0 League Cup first-round win over Walsall in 2005 – only Lewis Grabban started that match; Arron Fray and Tyrone Berry came off the bench.
At just 16 years and 192 days, Drakes-Thomas became the youngest Englishman to feature in the UEFA Conference League and Palace’s fourth-youngest player of all time, behind John Bostock, the Academy's own Alex Wynter, and Phil Hoadley.
Drakes-Thomas then etched his name in the record books again, becoming Palace’s youngest-ever Premier League player at 16 years and 194 days when he came on against Leeds.
The wing-back was also included in the squad for the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal alongside Rodney, while Benamar earned his maiden call-up to a Premier League matchday squad for the clash with Tottenham. What an achievement for our lads!
Swipe through a carousel of images capturing our Academy players stepping up to the first team, below!
01 / 23