Crystal Palace 2025-26 summary: Top scorer, best moment, new signings and full verdict on Oliver Glasner's final campaign

From the absolute nadir of a non-league FA Cup exit to the pure delirium of European glory, Crystal Palace's 2025-26 season provided enough drama to last a lifetime.

A dismal mid-season slump threatened to derail their campaign, but Oliver Glasner masterfully engineered a fairytale conclusion to his tenure, rallying his side to a historic Conference League triumph in Leipzig that secured a second major trophy in two years.

Here, Sports Mole provides a full summary of Crystal Palace’s 2025-26 season.

Crystal Palace 2025-26 season summary

Crystal Palace began the 2025-26 season on a real high by beating reigning Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties to lift the Community Shield at Wembley, just three months after celebrating a historic FA Cup triumph at the home of football.

The Eagles carried their positive momentum into the new Premier League campaign, launching a six-game unbeaten run that included statement wins over Aston Villa (3-0) and Liverpool (2-1). They also beat Fredrikstad in the Conference League playoff round to seal their place in the League Phase.

However, Palace reluctantly bid farewell to star playmaker Eberechi Eze at the end of August after a £67.5m transfer to Arsenal was agreed. Glasner’s side were at least able to keep hold of captain Marc Guehi (for just a little while longer) as a late move to Liverpool failed to materialise.

Eze returned to haunt his former side in October, scoring the winner in a narrow 1-0 victory for the Gunners at the Emirates, but Palace responded well to that minor setback, as they collected 13 points from their next six games to climb up to fourth in the Premier League table at the beginning of December.

On the continent, Conference League favourites Palace were made to work for their place in the knockout rounds. They set a new club record of 19 games unbeaten in all competitions (including results from the previous season) when they beat Dynamo Kiev 2-0 in their opening European match, but they won just two of their remaining five League Phase fixtures and had to settle for 10th place in the 36-team standings, forcing them to enter the knockout playoff round.

In their penultimate match of 2025, Palace suffered another defeat to Arsenal, this time in the EFL Cup quarter-finals having previously beaten Millwall and Liverpool - again - in rounds three and four. This loss to the Gunners coincided with a winless nine-game run in the Premier League as Palace’s campaign began to spiral out of control at the beginning of the New Year.

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January was certainly a chaotic month to forget for Palace supporters, who watched the FA Cup holders suffer a shock defeat to non-league Macclesfield in the third round. Glasner then dropped the bombshell news that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season before confirming Guehi’s £20m exit to Man City. Fan favourite Jean-Philippe Mateta, meanwhile, attempted to force through a mid-season move to AC Milan, though that deal collapsed due to a failed medical.

Mateta staying did not stop Palace splurging a club-record £48m on Jorgen Strand Larsen, just a few weeks after breaking their transfer record to sign Brennan Johnson for £35m. Those arrivals did not inspire an immediate upturn in form, though, as defeats to Newcastle, Sunderland and Chelsea contributed to Palace’s slide down to 15th place in the Premier League table.

Glasner’s public criticism of the Palace hierarchy sparked suggestions that he could be sacked before leaving as planned in the summer. However, following talks with chairman Steve Parish, the Austrian expressed his “100% commitment” to the Eagles and desire to end his final season at the club on a high with a European trophy.

It became clear during the second half of the season that Palace were putting all their eggs in the Conference League basket. Just four wins were posted in their final 20 Premier League games, including a 1-0 success over M23 rivals Brighton. Despite brief fears of entering the relegation picture, the Eagles settled for 15th place, finishing six points above the bottom three.

In Europe, Palace navigated past Zrinjski Mostar in the knockout playoff round before gaining last-16 revenge over AEK Larnaca, who had previously beaten them in the League Phase. Glasner’s men also prevailed against two-time Conference League finalists Fiorentina in the quarter-finals, before securing a 5-2 aggregate win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-finals.

Then came arguably the biggest night in Crystal Palace’s history - the Conference League showpiece against fellow European final debutants Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig. Just months after being booed by the Selhurst Park faithful for requesting a transfer, Mateta’s ‘Boom Boom’ chant was bellowed out by Palace supporters after the striker netted the only goal in a narrow 1-0 victory, securing the club’s second major trophy in as many years and Europa League football for next season.

Crystal Palace trophies won 2025-26

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Courtesy of their FA Cup victory last season, Crystal Palace faced Premier League holders Liverpool in the 2026 Community Shield in August - marking their debut in the traditional curtain-raiser.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson saved two penalties as the Eagles won 3-2 in a tense shootout following a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes at Wembley.

Glasner’s men were unable to retain the FA Cup, but they lived up to their billing as Conference League favourites by lifting the trophy in their first ever season in Europe.

Mateta’s close-range tap-in five minutes after half time was enough for Palace to edge past Rayo Vallecano by 1-0 scoreline in the final, with their victory rewarded with a place in next season’s Europa League.

Crystal Palace top scorer 2025-26: Ismaila Sarr (21)

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Ismaila Sarr has become just the second Crystal Palace player to surpass the 20-goal mark with the Eagles being a Premier League club after Andy Johnson (22) in the 2004-05 season.

The Senegal international finished the 2025-26 campaign with a total of 21 goals in 45 games across all competitions, including a tournament-high nine strikes in 13 games in the Conference League to claim the Golden Boot.

Sarr also scored nine goals in 28 Premier League outings; six of those were netted in the second half of the season, including a brace in a 3-1 away victory over Tottenham.

The 28-year-old produced a man-of-the-match performance in the EFL Cup fourth round, scoring twice in a 3-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield, while he also found the net in a 2-1 FA Cup third-round defeat to Macclesfield.

Crystal Palace's Player of the Season 2025-26: Ismaila Sarr

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The likes of Adam Wharton and Tyrick Mitchell deserve a special mention, but it is difficult to overlook top scorer Ismaila Sarr as Crystal Palace’s standout performer in the 2025-26 season.

When the attacker represented Senegal during the Africa Cup of Nations midway through the season, his absence in Glasner’s side was sorely felt. Upon his return, Sarr found a brilliant vein of scoring form, netting a team-high 13 goals in 23 games from February to May.

Known as a rapid, direct and versatile attacker, Sarr has excelled operating as an advanced forward in behind either Mateta or Strand Larsen up front. Without his goals, who knows whether the Eagles would have soared to European glory.

Crystal Palace's best moment of the 2025-26 season

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Palace’s 2025-26 season was an eventful one full of highs and lows, but their standout moment unquestionably came after their 60th and final game of the campaign when they got their hands on the Conference League trophy.

The road to Leipzig was arduous, but the Eagles supporters have thoroughly enjoyed their maiden European tour, with statement knockout wins over Fiorentina and Shakhtar Donetsk followed by their special showpiece triumph over Rayo Vallecano.

Palace fans have been more accustomed to seeing many of their London rivals standing in the spotlight, but it is now their time to celebrate a historic achievement, with the club following in the footsteps of West Ham and Chelsea by winning the Conference League.

Crystal Palace's biggest disappointment of the 2025-26 season

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The pre-season fiasco that forced Crystal Palace to drop down from the Europa League into the Conference League due to multi-club ownership issues involving John Textor was a low point for the club, but January was the month when the Eagles truly hit rock bottom.

Three defeats and two draws were recorded across five Premier League games, while the shock defeat to sixth-tier side Macclesfield in the FA Cup represents the competition’s biggest giant-killing of all time, as the non-league side were ranked 117 places below Palace in the English football pyramid.

The sale of captain and key defender Guehi for a cut-price £20m (with his contract up in the summer) soon followed, a decision that infuriated Glasner and fast-tracked his end-of-season exit announcement. Mateta’s wish to leave rubbed salt into Palace’s wounds as negativity sapped all the energy out of the Eagles.

Fortunately for the South Londoners, Glasner and Mateta settled their respective differences with the club and were committed to ending the season on a positive note by spearheading a historic continental charge that culminated in Conference League glory.

Oliver Glasner verdict - 2025-26 season

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Crystal Palace had not won a single trophy in their 120-year history up until 2025. Now they have three pieces of silverware in their cabinet thanks to Oliver Glasner, who ‘changed the way the club thinks’ in the words of Eagles legend Joel Ward.

Glasner has instilled a winning mentality at Selhurst Park since joining the Eagles in February 2024, and the Austrian has now cemented his legacy by delivering the most successful period in the club’s history.

The 51-year-old's decision to announce his end-of-season exit in January ran the risk of derailing Palace’s season. Instead, his squad galvanised behind their departing manager to finish the campaign in historic fashion with silverware in Saxony.

Glasner has said that he arrived at Selhurst Park as a stranger and will leave as a South Londoner – one forever etched into the club’s folklore and one who will be difficult to replace in the summer.

Crystal Palace's new signings 2025-26

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Crystal Palace's summer signings in 2025:

Yeremy Pino (£26m, Villarreal)

Borna Sosa (£2m, Ajax)

Jaydee Canvot (undisclosed, Toulouse)

Walter Benitez (free)

Christianus Uche (loan, Getafe)

Crystal Palace's January signings in 2026:

Brennan Johnson (£35m, Tottenham Hotspur)

Jorgen Strand Larsen (£48m, Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Evann Guessand (loan, Aston Villa)

Crystal Palace 2025-26 season rating

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It has been a rollercoaster season for Crystal Palace, full of painful setbacks and magic moments, but the Eagles ultimately soared to historic heights by capturing both the Community Shield and the Conference League trophy.

Not many would have envisaged Palace ending the season on such a high during a chaotic winter period when they plummeted down the Premier League table and exited the FA Cup in embarrassing fashion.

Palace’s performances across those two competitions will quickly fade from memory, eclipsed entirely by a historic European triumph that beautifully vindicated their domestic struggles and guaranteed that Glasner bids farewell as the club’s most successful manager.

It remains to be seen whether the Eagles can retain their star players in the summer and build on this season under a new manager, but at this present moment, it has never been a better time to support Crystal Palace, who are rightly feeling Glad All Over during a golden era in the club’s history.

Crystal Palace 2025-26 season rating: 8.5/10