Pre-season preparations; facing Premier League winners Liverpool; and the importance of the Community Shield were just a handful of the topics discussed in the manager's first pre-match press conference of 2025/26...
Glasner on returning to Wembley, facing Liverpool, and silverware...
Manager Oliver Glasner says he and his players are excited by the target of another piece of silverware at Wembley Stadium, as they prepare to face Liverpool in the FA Community Shield.
We want to show our personality again, we want to show how we play
—Oliver Glasner
On Palace returning to Wembley…
I'm excited. In the off-season at home, I always have time to reflect and, of course, always having calls and preparing for the next season...
But I could feel it, personally, this week. I came back in competition mode, and I'm looking forward to this game: our third game at Wembley, third time sold out, and then facing Villa the first game, facing Man City and now Liverpool, who are really top teams here.
It’s much better than playing a friendly, a last friendly somewhere, and it's a chance to win a trophy, and it's a chance to compete with the [Premier League] champions, and we want to show our personality again, we want to show how we play, we want to show that we are able to compete with every single team, and this is how we prepared in the last couple of weeks.
The players, again, give me confidence, and I think in the last game at Liverpool we could see how the game could happen, how the game could be, and so I’m really looking forward in the best possible way.
01 / 05
On the importance of the Community Shield…
For me, always when you play a final, when you play for silverware, you always want to win it. I mentioned this so often – sometimes I felt it when we were speaking about the Carabao Cup – we entered the competition to win it, and everyone was like ‘it’s the Carabao’, and of course, when when we have a game in training, I hope everybody wants to win it, it's a winning mentality.
I played, when I was at home after the training camp in Austria, Connect Four and lost twice in a row against my daughter, I was really upset! This I think is just the mindset you have, and I hope that this is what we try to create always: a winning mentality.
Never play a game just for playing it. Enter the pitch, go to Wembley, prepare in the best way, have the confidence that you can win it, and give the best that you can do.
It doesn't mean that you always win it, but this is what we expect from us, this is what we expect from our players and I think this is what the fans can expect from us. They can't expect winning it, but they can expect that we enter the pitch and try to win it – and this is what we will do.
On looking to win at Wembley again…
I think it's possible again. Again half of the stadium will be behind us, our fans, and it's great that in this way, similar to how it ended last season, the season is starting again.
Of course, Liverpool are always the favourites when Liverpool play against Crystal Palace - as a champion against the 12th-placed team - and of course, how they acted in the transfer market, how they strengthened their team… so Liverpool are the favourites.
Man City were also the favourites, and we won. We expect to have chances as well, and that's how we're going to approach the game.
The best thing about playing in this atmosphere, even if you have 40,000 or 45,000 fans behind you, is that you're simply responsible for playing to win - and that's what we're going to do.
Match Details
Crystal Palace v Liverpool
- Sunday, 10th August
- 15:00 BST
- FA Community Shield
- Wembley Stadium
- Live audio commentary on Palace TV+.