Crystal Palace's remarkable transformation under Oliver Glasner has turned them into legitimate FA Cup contenders, a stark contrast to their early-season struggles when they failed to secure a Premier League win until late October.
The Eagles have soared into the FA Cup semi-finals following an impressive 3-0 victory over Fulham, rekindling dreams of capturing the first major trophy in their long history. Despite reaching the final twice before—in 1990 and 2016—Palace have never lifted the prestigious cup.
Since the beginning of 2025, Glasner's influence has been undeniable. Only Liverpool have recorded more victories in all competitions among Premier League sides than Palace's 10 wins. Defensively, they've been impenetrable, securing eight clean sheets—more than any other top-flight English team during this period.
"The season is not over. If this is the end today I wouldn't be happy," Glasner told BBC Sport after the Fulham match. "I think this is just the start of our crunch time. Two months now, hopefully we have 12 games to play."
The Austrian manager acknowledged the challenging start to his tenure, which was complicated by the departure of star player Michael Olise to Bayern Munich, numerous squad members participating in major tournaments, and four deadline-day signings. However, these obstacles have been overcome, with Palace establishing themselves as a formidable unit in Glasner's preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.
The defensive trio of Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, and Marc Guehi has developed into one of the Premier League's most reliable backlines, contributing significantly to Palace's impressive record of just two defeats in their last 15 matches—despite winning only three home league games all season.
While Palace supporters are already singing about their trip to Wembley, Glasner remains focused on the immediate challenge. "I don't want to talk about winning a trophy because even in the next game we can't win a trophy. It is just the semi-finals," he said. "When you enter a cup competition it doesn't matter if you lose in round number one or the semi-finals, we enter the competition to win it."
Glasner's previous Wembley experiences have been limited to arriving by Tube—twice to watch England matches and once when dropping off his daughter for a Taylor Swift concert. Recently, he visited the national stadium to witness Eberechi Eze score his first England goal against Latvia.
Eze's season has been challenging, with the talented midfielder scoring just his fifth goal of the campaign against Fulham. "I think Ebs is having quite a strange season," Glasner observed. "Because he does not have many goals in the Premier League but he has had so many chances."
Despite struggling with what Glasner describes as "strange injuries," Eze continues to persevere. The manager believes Eze's international goal has provided a significant psychological boost: "I think his goal against Latvia, first goal for England, means a lot for him as a person and has helped him."
As Crystal Palace prepare for their Wembley semi-final, their remarkable transformation under Glasner gives fans legitimate hope that this could finally be the year they claim their first FA Cup.
