Another London rival? How many are there! South London have been proudly represented by Crystal Palace for years, and the Eagles were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992-93. They just finished 100 years at Selhurst Park. Charlton and Millwall are their traditional rivals, but it is the Seagulls of Brighton they particularly do not like. They have pedigree, if not a trophy cabinet (until recently).
Oliver Glasner's incredible FA Cup win (and subsequent Community Shield win too, it is an important trophy isn't it Arsenal fans?) was the first time Palace won a major trophy. Before the Premier League began Palace had run Arsenal and Liverpool close in the English First Division, finishing a club record 3rd in the league. This was off the back of losing their first FA Cup Final to Manchester United in a replay after the first game ended in a draw. It would be a similar story in 2016 when Alan Pardew took the Eagles to their second FA Cup Final as United would win 2-1 in extra time.
On 3 occasions Palace only spent a solitary year in the Premier League before relegation. The last of these was in 2004-05, when we won our First Premier League title. Palace went down in 18th place, but Andrew Johnson ended up with 21 goals and the Golden Boot. They returned in 2013-14 and have become a staple of the mid-table, not quite flirting with relegation or the top half of the table. For a big chunk of this period they relied on Wilfried Zaha, a highly talented player who could not cut it at the biggest stage.
Overall Record : W24 L4 D4
Key Statistics
Most Points Per Game (2.38, 1st)
Most Home Points Per Game (2.38, 3rd)
Most Away Points Per Game (2.38, 2nd)
Most Away Goals Per Game (1.93, 3rd)
Wins to Games Played Ratio (0.75, 1st)
Now that is a record to be proud of. We have won 3 out of every 4 games played against our London rivals in the Premier League, our best ratio against any Premier League Club this season. And the symmetry is beautiful, 12 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats each, both home and away.
In 1998 we beat them 6-2 at Stamford Bridge, before I began watching football I must admit. Palace were in the Premier League in 2004-05 and we beat them home and away onto our 1st Premier League Title. When they returned in 2013-14, we suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat through a captain John Terry own goal. Jose Mourinho had us in a 3-horse title race, but this defeat meant Liverpool held all the cards. While Gerrard slipping against us lives long in memory, it was a comeback from 3-0 down by Palace that led to Manchester City winning the title at the death.
Fabregas first goal for Chelsea was an absolute beauty. pic.twitter.com/7QwZjRNaK6
— . (@CFC_Carneyy) February 24, 2025
We would lead the league from start to finish the next season, a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park that stood out for 2 fabulous goals, one a trivela from Oscar and the other a magical link-up involving the Brazilian, Hazard and Cesc Fabregas, the latter getting his first Chelsea goal.
Mourinho was beaten 2-1 at home by Palace in our first meeting the next year. Radamel Falcao scoring for us, but he was a shadow of the monstrous goal scorer he had been in years prior. Our next home fixture began with another Cesc Fabregas goal in the 5th minute, but by the 11th minute Palace had gone 2-1 ahead and held on to win. Palace won our next league meeting 2-1 as well, but since then its been 13 wins on the trot.
There are a few goals of note. Trevoh Chalobah scoring his first goal for the club, on debut and from distance I must add, sealing a 3-0 win under Tuchel. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang scoring his only Chelsea goal and Conor Gallagher scoring a late long range winner under Potter. More on him later. Mykhailo Mudryk with a fine run and finish under Pochettino. Last season there were draws home and away as Glasner has made the Eagles into a very strong footballing side.
They Played for Both
Let's get it over with and talk about Gary Cahill again. After leaving the Blues, Cahill spent two seasons at Selhurst Park. Since Palace are in South London, a number of Chelsea players have preferred a move to the Eagles if not in favor currently, either to go on loan and gain Premier League experience or to find a new home not far off from the old home. They've got families they would not want to uproot I guess.
Patrick van Aanholt was a promising Dutch fullback. He never quite graduated to Chelsea level, only playing 6 times for the club in the League. He moved to Palace in 2016, the same time as Loic Remy who moved after 12 goals in 40 odd games at the Bridge. Remy only lasted one season at Selhurst Park and the next year Rueben Loftus-Cheek would join and have a successful loan spell, impressing in midfield.
Another Chelsea striker joined in 2018. Michy Batshuayi has always had great numbers on paper, 36 Goals and Assists in 79 games is not a bad return. But he was tactically naïve and spent 2 years at Palace, while Gary Cahill and van Aanholt were in the Palace defence. van Aanholt had the imposing figure of Ashley Cole keeping him out of the side, Cole himself had 14 games for Palace in 1999.
In 2021 Chelsea sold Marc Guehi to Crystal Palace. And they sent Conor Gallagher on loan. Both saw their careers take off. Gallagher contributed 13 goals and assists in 39 games from midfield that year and Guehi would become Palace captain. There is a sense that Guehi is one of those that got away from the club. At least fans are happy we got Trevoh Chalobah back.
Next up, the Blue side of the Mersey.