Ten things we LOVED from the semi-final victory

First-team

28 Apr 2025

What a day. What a game. What a result. Where do we even begin to look back?! Normally we'd write about five things we loved... but let's face it, there were more to celebrate than that!

1. The pre-match scenes

We have to start here. The 90 minutes of action on the pitch will, of course, live long in the memory, but before a ball was even kicked you, the fans, were already out there enjoying magical Saturdays.

From Covent Garden to The Green Man, from SE25 to San Francisco, Palace fans across the country and all around the world were getting involved in showing their support.

Check out our pre-match gallery for all the scenes from Covent Garden and Wembley way – you might even have been snapped!

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2. The sea of Red and Blue

It was spectacular seeing it all come together – the kind of scene which sets our club apart from everyone else, South London style.

Manager Oliver Glasner was proud of the efforts ahead of time too, as he said in his pre-match press conference: “Our supporters raising £13,000 [for the display] is great.

“Since we arrived, I could feel the support for the team and that’s important. It’s not important to support me, but to support the team – because they are the guys winning the games.”

There's a new fundraiser underway for the Final now...

3. The manager’s post-match speech

Goosebumps. We’ll let Oliver Glasner do the talking here...

Click here to read the full transcript of his speech!

4. The many faces & moves of Jean-Philippe Mateta

He might have had a goal disallowed, he might have missed the spot-kick – but he kept his head up and kept on leading from the front.

Shortly after missing the penalty, JP Mateta was straight down the other end and put in a vital sliding challenge on the edge of the box to keep Villa at bay. Before you know it he was there in the carnage when Ismaïla Sarr netted the second.

Look at his face – just look at his face!

Oh, and afterwards, he broke out the kind of dance moves in the dressing room which would give even Ian Holloway a run for his money!

5. Familiar faces watching on

Speaking of faces, there were a few in the crowd dotted around Wembley who achieved fantastic things while in the dugout, and will have enjoyed watching on!

Former manager Roy Hodgson was in the building, enjoying the sun and the action out on the pitch.

Former managers Alan Smith and Steve Coppell were also in the crowd at Wembley – another duo who know a thing or two about big days for Palace!

6. Once Palace, always Palace

As well as having two great Palace managers in the stands, there were also a number of familiar Palace faces and legends dotted all over Wembley Stadium

John Salako was on the big screen after the boys in Red and Blue were read out, getting the crowd going, while Scott Dann, Martin Kelly and James McArthur were all in the Fanzone prior to kick-off – that's some big-match experience right there!

Glenn Murray, meanwhile, was a pundit for the live BBC Sport broadcast in the UK.

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7. Henderson heroics

It’s easy to get lost in the goals and the limbs at Wembley, but a shoutout has to go to Dean Henderson for some of his incredible saves throughout the game to keep a clean sheet.

And him running the length of the pitch to join in with the celebrations for the third goal was iconic...