Crystal Palace were FA Cup winners at Wembley in May when they defeated Manchester City and on Sunday saw off Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield – before they find out their European fate on Monday
The banner unfurled by Crystal Palace fans just after the Wembley kickoff yesterday showed the South London club’s biggest rivals this week.
“UEFA Mafia,” declared the Holmesdale Fanatics before Monday’s decision on which European competition the Eagles will enter this campaign. And while the FA Cup winners again showed the X Factor to stun another Premier League giant to win the Community Shield, the singing about Europe’s governing body and Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was dominated by X-rated language.
It proved that Palace fans are not always Glad All Over on yet another unforgettably raucous Wembley day out.
The Eagles had won a spot in the Europa League along with the first trophy in their history here in May but were relegated to the Conference League last month after UEFA ruled they had breached the rules on multi-club ownership.
The Selhurst Park club presented their case to Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday and now await the verdict. And despite this memorable win, the judgement on Palace’s chances on the pitch season will have to be held until the closure of the summer transfer window on September 1.
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Oliver Glasner sent out the same starting 11 which beat Manchester City on the biggest day in the club’s history back on May 17 – and again produced another tactical masterpiece against the champions who have spent £295m this summer.
Palace have a super, energetic and well-drilled first team but the squad depth is the issue, especially with four competitions ahead.
They have turned down a £30m offer from Atalanta for opening goalscorer Jean-Philippe Mateta but captain Marc Guehi, who limped off before the end, and Eberechi Eze could yet be sold this month.
And the Austrian manager, who is also out of contract at the end of his season, has shown his frustration with the club’s “passive” transfer activity which has seen only two signings so far. Winning the CAS case will see Palace go straight into the Europa League group stages next month. Losing will see them face a two-legged Conference League play-off against either Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Midtjylland of Denmark on August 21 and 28.
Glasner has warned the club that it would be a “mistake” to wait until the end of the month to make more signings. But the other big date looming for Crystal Palace is August 24 when they host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Olympiakos owner Marinakis placed his shares in the Premier League club in a blind trust earlier in April and Forest, who finished seventh last season, will benefit with promotion to the Europa League if Palace lose the CAS case.
Then forget Millwall and Brighton – Nottingham Forest will be the new bitterest rivals for Crystal Palace.
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