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How long have Crystal Palace waited for a major trophy? Which Premier League sides could join them in Europe next season?
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Updated 18/05/2025 at 17:15 GMT+1
Crystal Palace ended their mammoth wait for a trophy on Saturday when they pulled off a famous win over Manchester City at Wembley. They have now secured a place in next season's UEFA Europa League, a competition previously won by current manager Oliver Glasner. They could be joined by up to 10 Premier League sides next year, requiring a certain combination of results.
Glasner 'proud' to give fans 'moment for life' with FA Cup victory
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Crystal Palace finally got their hands on a major trophy on Saturday at Wembley Stadium when they won the FA Cup after beating Manchester City in the final - but how long have they waited?
Oliver Glasner’s men recorded a famous upset win when they beat Pep Guardiola's Man City 1-0, courtesy of an early Eberechi Eze goal.
It was far from plain sailing, though, as they benefited from a controversial decision not to send Dean Henderson off after he handled outside the box, and the goalkeeper then produced an outstanding display to pull off a string of superb saves, including a penalty stop against Omar Marmoush.
Understandably, Palace players and fans cared little for any controversy once they had won the trophy, given the length of time it had taken for Palace to win a major trophy.
Of course, there have been some successes along the way, with a number of titles and cups collected since their inception in 1905.
They have been champions of the Championship in its various forms, and also won the third division in the 1920/21 campaign.
They also won the short-lived Full Members Cup in the 1990/91 season as English teams sat out European matches. During World War Two, they also won the 1940/41 Football League South and the 1939/40 Wartime South D League, as well as a handful of regional titles.
Before the win against City, they had twice reached the FA Cup final. Against Manchester United, they were minutes from victory following Jason Puncheon's late goal, before United rallied to win 2-1 with an extra-time strike from Jesse Lingard.
In 1989/90, they also played Man Utd. They again led only to be frustrated late, as Mark Hughes secured a 3-3 draw in the first final in extra-time, before Lee Martin scored the only goal of the replay to win the trophy for United - the first major piece of silverware under Alex Ferguson.
Therefore, the 2024/25 FA Cup win is the first major title ever won by the south London club in their 119-year history.
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Which English clubs can qualify for Europe next season?
With their FA Cup win, Crystal Palace will play in next season’s UEFA Europa League. They could yet finish eighth in the Premier League, but it would require an unlikely permutation of league results and a huge swing in goal difference.
Six English teams will play in the UEFA Champions League. The top five in the Premier League, plus the winners between Man Utd and Tottenham Hotspur in Wednesday’s Europa League final.
Currently, Newcastle are on course to play in the UEFA Conference League by virtue of winning the League Cup, but they could yet land one of the Champions League spots. If they finish in the top five, then the seventh-placed team would get the Conference League spot.
If Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League final against Real Betis, they will then qualify for the Europa League - but they could also finish in the Champions League or Europa League spots.
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However, if Chelsea come sixth and win the Conference League, they would go through to the Europa League. If Newcastle then finish seventh, they would then go into the Europa League by virtue of taking Chelsea’s spot that would have been earned by their league finish, again passing their Conference League spot to the team that finishes in eighth.
Eighth place would also secure European football, if Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League.
Currently, the teams still in contention to join Liverpool in the top five are Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Man City and Nottingham Forest. None of those teams can drop out of the top seven.
The teams capable of finishing in eighth spot, and potentially winning a Conference League spot, are Brentford and Brighton on 55 points, Fulham on 54, Bournemouth on 53, and Crystal Palace on 49.
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