Arsenal beat Crystal Palace on penalties for place in EFL Cup semi-final against Chelsea

For Crystal Palace, 2025 was one of the best years in the club’s history.

With the FA Cup and Community Shield in the trophy cabinet and a maiden European campaign underway, things are going pretty well in south London.

However, there is a feeling that things could be even better if their top coach Oliver Glasner had more options in his squad.

The Palace boss made three changes to the side beaten at Leeds, but the Eagles have started to falter and look tired in recent weeks as their increased fixture schedule begins to catch up with their relatively small squad.

However, overall, Glasner made them exceptionally resolute and it was this belief that helped them equalize late on.

Palace are without injured key player Daniel Munoz, lost Chris Richards to what appeared to be a serious injury during the match and have striker Jean-Philippe Mateta injured, but Glasner still manages to keep his team competitive in several competitions.

The Eagles almost managed to make their way to the last four but, although disappointed, they should be pleased with the fight they showed against a top team.