Palace's 2025 Wrapped: The best games, goals & moments

Where to begin summing up this most historic of dates, then? Well, we'll give it our best – as we roll through our pick of the greatest games, goals, photos and moments from this year, to go alongside our favourite statistics.

But let's be honest – in all four categories, there were so, so many more we could have included.

Greatest games

Where else to start? Saturday, 17th May, 2025. The promised land.

Our third FA Cup Final proved the charm for the Eagles, as we defeated Manchester City by a goal to 'nil at a sold-out Wembley Stadium on a day in our history which will never be forgotten.

Ebere Eze's clinical first-time finish in the first-half; a Dean Henderson penalty save from Omar Marmoush before the interval; and a defensive performance for the ages, one characterised by the most incredible commitment, courage and belief, all combined to see us through – in front of a sea of roaring Red and Blue fans at Wembley Stadium.

The first-ever major trophy in our history – and we fully, fully deserved it. As Chairman Steve Parish said after the game: "We deserved it for how incredible this group are: the fans, the history, the times we've been denied... it was our time. It felt like our time."

We will never get tired of watching the video below!

Just 85 days later, we were back – and how.

Following on from our FA Cup final victory, Oliver Glasner’s Eagles made it back-to-back trophies on visits to Wembley, with a penalty shoot-out win over Premier League winners Liverpool.

Liverpool twice look the lead through debutants Hugo Ekitiké and Jeremie Frimpong but Palace roared back on both occasions, with goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta (a penalty) and Ismaïla Sarr taking the game to spot-kicks

Mohamed Salah missed and Dean Henderson saved from Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott, whilst Mateta, Sarr and Justin Devenny all scored from the spot, to hand Palace another trophy for the cabinet!

The result saw us lift the FA Community Shield trophy for the very first time, and in our first-ever involvement in the fixture.

As for the best of the rest? There are plenty of contenders...

... but, speaking subjectively, we've rarely jumped as high in a press box as we did in the 96th minute on Saturday, 27th September.

Crystal Palace and Liverpool both went into the contest at Selhurst Park without having suffered a defeat this season within 90 minutes – the only two sides to have done so – with Arne Slot’s Liverpool side having won their opening six games of the campaign on the bounce.

But for a second time (of three, as it turned out) this season against the Reds, Palace produced one of the club’s all-time great Premier league performances, packed with pace, style and verve, to put the reigning champions to the sword.

Goals from Ismaïla Sarr and Eddie Nketiah – the latter with virtually the last kick of the game, to add to the drama – gave Palace a fully-deserved victory, and sent the Eagles second, at the time, in the Premier League table.

Glasner and his team were later awarded the League Managers' Association's Utilita Performance of the Week Award.

Other contenders? Back-to-back wins over Aston Villa, home and away, have to be up there, both being by three-goal margins.

Our fourth win in the last six seasons against Manchester United at Old Trafford back in February was memorable, as was a 2-0 win away at Tottenham Hotspur in May to see us pick up our first-ever league double against the North London side.

A 2-1 win against Brighton in SE25 in April was also historic, particularly as we finished the game with nine men, as it meant we had recorded a first-ever top-flight double against our traditional rivals.

And then, there's the road to Wembley... from the fifth round onwards, it was magical: 3-1 against Millwall, 3-0 against Fulham, 3-0 (again) against Villa, and 1-0 against City. Just one goal conceded en route to winning the trophy – special, special memories.

Greatest goals

For the status of 'most important goal in our history', Eze's Cup Final winner will take some beating – but we've seen our fair share of stunning strikes elsewhere across 2025.

From January, strikes which stick out were Marc Guéhi's fine finish away at Leicester, followed up a few days later by Jean-Philippe Mateta's solo effort at West Ham United.

In February, we had the satisfaction of watching Daniel Muñoz's rocket against Fulham – at the culmination of a slick counter at Craven Cottage.

March brought about another wonderful Eze goal in the FA Cup – one which turned the tide, after a difficult opening half-an-hour, of the quarter-final against Fulham, paving the way for a stunning 3-0 victory. Ismaïla Sarr's cute clip over the 'keeper against Ipswich was another one to savour.

But in April, Eze was back at it with a fantastic first-time effort in the semi-final against Aston Villa, whilst Sarr's brace of goals that afternoon was wonderfully well-taken.

It was also in April that Palace's 2024/25 Goal of the Season winner – Mateta's audacious chip against Arsenal – came to be.

The French forward got his 17th – and final – goal of a fine personal campaign in the 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium. The beautifully executed strike came just three minutes after he had entered the field of play, brushing off Martin Ødegaard and – without looking up – deftly wedging the ball over David Raya from long range, his strike clipping the crossbar on its way in.

The 2025/26 season has already seen some stunners: defenders Guéhi and Tyrick Mitchell have hit spectacular strikes at Aston Villa and West Ham United respectively, whilst Sarr's brilliant team goal against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup was a worthy winner of your October Goal of the Month prize.

November brought about Yéremy Pino's first Premier League goal – a delicious shot from the edge of the area crashing in off the underside of the crossbar – whilst December saw Christantus Uche produce a moment of sheer magic in our final UEFA Conference League league phase match against KuPS Kuopio.

It gets better every time you watch it.

Greatest moments

For sheer emotion? We have to return to the FA Cup victory.

Indeed, The Overlap podcast selected the unveiling of the brilliant FA Cup Final Palace supporter-led tifo display as their best moment of the 2024/25 season.

The likes of Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Roy Keane and former Palace great Ian Wright unanimously agreed that Palace's stunning supporter-led display at the FA Cup Final – produced by the Holmesdale Fanatics, after fans came together to raise over £45,000 to support it – was the standout moment of 2024/25.

If you want to learn more about story behind the tifo display, and the sentiment behind it – head here.

Brothers Nathan and Dominic Wealleans, who were depicted on the tifo celebrating in disbelief with their late father Mark, later spoke to BBC Sport: "We just froze, thinking 'have they actually done this?'" Dominic said.

"It's not for us, it's for the club, but what that moment meant for us two just made me feel this is Palace's day today, this is the day we do it.

"We were getting hugs, handshakes, high-fives, the lot. It was amazing, something so special to be a part of."

In the immediate aftermath of the game, two truly special moments captured on camera: these post-match speeches from Glasner and club captain Joel Ward – right from the heart of Palace’s dressing room at Wembley Stadium after the FA Cup triumph – are not to be missed.

When Joel went up to lift the FA Cup, we were there.

A few days later, there were more tears, as Ward – a near-ever-present throughout our longest top-flight spell to date, playing a key role in many of the most important moments in modern club history, starting with our promotion in 2012/13 – bade farewell.

Ward overall played 364 matches for the Eagles – a total which places him eighth in our list of all-time appearances – and racked up 306 Premier League games in red and blue – our highest-ever total by an individual player – scoring six times for the club.

He duly earned the Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Contribution last season.

At the end of the month, there were more special scenes surrounding Selhurst Park.

It was the day so many connected with the club had been waiting for: Palace's open-top bus parade transported our FA Cup winning heroes, and the historic trophy itself, around the SE25 streets, before culminating in an unforgettable 'Party on the Pitch'.

Further Wembley celebrations in August aside – the first-ever major European match to take place at Selhurst Park will also take some topping.

The Eagles' first major European fixture culminated in a 1-0 win over Fredrikstad back in August on a special night in SE25 – European football had arrived, and the club had officially reached a new level.

After qualification was subsequently secured in Norway, then came our first-ever match in the competition proper: an away day to Lublin, Poland, to face Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kyiv.

A 2-0 win on a night saw dominance from the boys from South London – but overall it capped a special few days in the history of the club, for those fortunate enough to follow and witness it.

Elsewhere in the calendar year, we played our 1000th top-flight match earlier this month when we defeated Burnley 1-0, and our 600th Premier League match at the start of the year in that aforementioned 2-0 win over West Ham.

The point we collected on our final day of the 2024/25 season, against Liverpool at Anfield, saw us finish with a club-record 53 points for the season, surpassing our previous highest points total in the Premier League era (49 – in the 2023/24, 2018/19, and 1992/93 campaigns).

Indeed prior to the latest round of matches (with Palace playing on 1st January, and some other sides on the 30th December), our Premier League form in 2025 (59 points) would have placed us sixth in the calendar league table, behind only Manchester City (80 points), Arsenal (80), Aston Villa (76), Liverpool (71) and Chelsea (63).

Earlier this month, there were two particularly proud nights for our Academy at first-team level.

With four Academy graduates included from the start against KuPS Kuopio (Dean Benamar, George King, Kaden Rodney and Joél Drakes-Thomas), three of them making their senior debuts, the XI also became Palace’s youngest since 1982.

Two days later, with 85 minutes on the clock at Elland Road, Drakes-Thomas was introduced from the bench against Leeds United, becoming Crystal Palace’s youngest-ever Premier League player, aged 16 years and 194 days, surpassing the previous record set by David Ozoh.

Lastly, but by no means, there was this from just before Christmas: what Crystal Palace Football Club is all about.

2025 – you'll take some beating. Thank you to each and every person connected with the club who played their part.

Here's to more in 2026 – Happy New Year!