Across our men’s, women’s and academy sides this season it has been a tremendous campaign both on and off the pitch – so let’s look back at five of our favourite achievements from a memorable year in south London…
Palace’s glorious five-goal demolition of Aston Villa on the final day made it six wins in seven to round off the Premier League season, and secured Palace just their second top-half finish in the competition.
The statistics speak for themselves: four straight home wins for the first time in the Premier League (and for the first time since 1990/91); a joint-biggest Premier League win (5-0); and a joint-highest Premier League points tally (49).
Palace not only broke their record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season (netting 57 times), but obliterated their record tally in a top-flight campaign, previously set back in 1992 (with 53).
So much has come in this most recent run: in the last 35 days of the season Palace beat five teams who have competed in Europe this season (Liverpool, Manchester United, West Ham United, Newcastle United and Aston Villa), and beat them well by an aggregate score of 17-2.
Jean-Philippe Mateta became the first man since Yannick Bolasie in April 2015 to score a Premier League hat-trick for the club – a first-ever home Premier League in Palace's history (and first in the top-flight since Mike Flanagan's in October 1980).
It was also Mateta's second hat-trick this season, after netting three times away at Plymouth Argyle back in August.
Three goals took Mateta’s personal tally for the season to 19, the highest of any player since Palace were promoted back in 2013 – but he is just one cog in a lethal attacking set-up.
JP’s nine goals in his last six games have set tongues wagging, but Ebere Eze and Michael Olise have had a massive contribution.
This was also the first time in Palace's Premier League, and indeed top-flight, history that three players (Mateta 16, Eze 11 and Olise 10) scored have all scored 10 or more goals in the same season.
Crystal Palace Women made club history by winning the Championship title at Selhurst Park – and, with it, promotion to the top-flight for the very first time.
Laura Kaminski’s side sealed the 23/24 league title on the final day of the season with a draw against Sunderland in front of a club-record crowd at Selhurst Park.
Palace were in blistering form throughout the season, scoring a sensational 55 goals in their 22 league matches – an average of 2.5 goals per game, and some 16 more than any other team.
They also recorded the most wins of any side – 14 – and the second-fewest defeats (4) – whilst also conceding the Championship’s fourth-lowest ‘goals against’ tally (20), with Kaminski twice being named Manager of the Month by the LMA along the way.
Their performances saw Elise Hughes earn the Golden Boot, while Kaminski was named the 2023/24 Women’s Championship Manager of the Season by the League Managers’ Association.
Having seen off Athletic Club, Benfica, Feyenoord, Monaco, Wolves and Everton en route to a second successive Premier League International Cup final, the Under-21s were out to prove that they were the best young side in Europe at Selhurst Park.
The Young Eagles were out for a taste of revenge following last year’s defeat to Jong PSV – the youth side of PSV Eindhoven – who won last season’s tournament in extra-time.
They were backed by another strong attendance – with over 2,000 tickets sold ahead of kick-off – on a glorious early summer’s eve in SE25.
A superb counter-attacking display, capped by Franco Umeh’s deflected effort midway through the second-half, was enough to see Palace home.
“It’s massive, massive [for the club] – and for the players as well,” head coach Powell told Palace TV. “I say for the players, but coming here last year and losing the final… we couldn't do it again. We couldn't do it again, and that was the mantra.
“We wanted to, by all means, win it. I mean, it wasn't our best performance, but we were up against a really good side. They were really good side last year, and again, they've just got very good players. And then we rode our luck, yes, but that's football. That's football.
“I said before the game: it's about creating memories. As they go on in their life, life's all about memories, right? And wherever they go in the game, you shouldn't forget these memories.”
While Palace have been making strides on the pitch, our community initiatives have been buzzing with activity, offering continuous support to south Londoners across various aspects of their lives – from mental and physical well-being to career development and mentorship.
In August, we kicked off with the launch of our Girls Emerging Talent Centre, where young aspiring female footballers have been receiving top-notch coaching and guidance to fuel their footballing dreams.
September brought some special guests to our Soccer Schools at Kent County Cricket Club, including Aimee Everett, Annabel Johnson, and Chloe Arthur, who took time out of their busy schedules and high-flying season to inspire and engage with our young participants.
During the October international break, over 200 dedicated Palace supporters, alongside Foundation Patrons Andrew Johnson and Mark Bright, hit the pavement for our seventh Marathon March, covering 26.2 miles and raising a whopping £102,000 for our community.
December marked a milestone as we unveiled our first-ever limited edition fourth shirt in collaboration with the club and technical kit supplier, Macron. The sale of 1,000 shirts contributed all profits towards supporting young south Londoners.
As we rang in the New Year, we celebrated the remarkable contributions of sessional coach Mary Barnett, who was honoured with the Community Captain award for her outstanding work with the Women’s Walking Football Team and in schools and disability programs. Additionally, Marc Guéhi joined us at the Academy to coach Premier League Kicks participants as part of the More Than A Game campaign.
In March, we opened our doors to the local community for our third annual Iftar, where guests enjoyed special moments and delicious food together to break their fast.
April brought an exciting opportunity for our young participants as both the men’s and women’s first teams visited the Academy, to get a glimpse into the daily work of our coaches, which was captured for Match of the Day. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on our YouTube channel!
The season wrapped up with our Bike to Wolves event, as 33 brave riders pedalled from Selhurst Park to the Molineux, raising nearly £44,000 (and counting!) and celebrated their achievement by taking the three points home.
There’s still time for more silverware for Palace’s players, as plenty of international Eagles head to join up with their national sides ahead of a huge summer of tournament football.
A club-record four players were called up to the England provisional squad for the European Championships, with former-Palace captain Gareth Southgate looking to go one further than three years ago and become the first manager since 1966 to lift silverware with the Three Lions.
Adam Wharton, Ebere Eze, Dean Henderson and Marc Guéhi are all currently with the squad, who take on Serbia, Slovenia and Denmark in the group stages – the latter represented by Joachim Andersen.
Plus, there will be action across the pond as the Copa America kicks off in the United States, with Chris Richards selected by USMNT manager – and former Palace player – Gregg Berhalter for the tournament.
The hosts take on Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay in the group stages in Texas, Atlanta and Kansas City respectively.
If they qualify from their group, there is a strong chance they would take on Colombia in the knockout rounds, meaning Richards would meet Palace teammates Daniel Muñoz and Jefferson Lerma.
He won't have to wait that long, however, with the United States taking on Colombia in a pre-tournament friendly dubbed 'The Summer Showdown' at Commanders Field in Maryland. The stadium, home of NFL side Washington Commanders, has a capacity of 91,000.
Colombia find themselves in a group with Paraguay, Brazil and Costa Rica.
