A Premier League decade: 2016/17

Club

25 Jun 2023

To mark Palace’s decade in the Premier League – a record for the club in the top-flight – we’re looking back on each of our campaigns in detail before the beginning of the next chapter…

The Eagles will begin the 23/24 campaign with an away match against newly-promoted Sheffield United on Saturday, 12th August, before welcoming Arsenal to Selhurst Park on Saturday, 19th August.

Ahead of domestic football’s return, let’s look back at some of Palace’s finest hours – our latest is a season filled with twists and turns…

Part One: 2013/14
Part Two: 2014/15
Part Three: 2015/16

Heading stateside

Palace will be returning to the USA this summer to face Millonarios FC and Sevilla in late-July, the first time since the summer of 2016.

The Eagles travelled stateside to face FC Cincinnati, Philadelphia Union and Vancouver Whitecaps in a triple-header of friendlies.

New signings Andros Townsend and James Tomkins made their first outings for the club in Philadelphia, before winning 2-0 in Cincinnati thanks to goals from Jordan Mutch and Wilfried Zaha.

The final leg of the tour saw Palace travel to British Columbia in Canada to face the Whitecaps.

After initially going two goals down, a second-half brace from Fraizer Campbell saw the south Londoners fight back to earn a 2-2 draw and conclude their tour of North America.

This game also saw Palace face a 15-year-old future Champions League winner Alphonso Davies, a month after he made his professional debut.

Smart business

Palace strengthened early in the window, signing Townsend, Tomkins and Steve Mandanda from Newcastle United, West Ham United and Marseille respectively.

Christian Benteke followed for a club-record fee in August, and Mathieu Flamini was added on a free transfer in September.

After early defeats to West Brom and Tottenham Hotspur, Palace hit back late at Bournemouth to grab a point – and then they up and running.

Benteke scored his first for the club in an important away win at Middlesbrough, the first of a three-game winning run that culminated at the Stadium of Light as Palace fought back from two goals down to win 3-2.

Sitting pretty in eighth after seven games, things had started well – but in the Premier League drama is always just around the corner.

Bleak midwinter

Between mid-October 2016 and February 2017, Palace played 18 games in the Premier League. They lost 14 of them.

It wasn’t quite freefall – after all, several of the results were by the thinnest of margins. A 94th-minute defeat at Burnley, a late Manchester City suckerpunch, a last-minute Zlatan Ibrahimović winner at Selhurst Park.

Perhaps the most traumatising moment came in south Wales, as Palace fought back from behind to go 4-3 up against Swansea City, before two stoppage time goals saw three points become none.

Sam Allardyce arrived just before Christmas, replacing Alan Pardew, and a new era began.

Bouncing back

Needless to say, Palace had the last laugh.

Several important January additions strengthened the side: Jeff Schlupp, Patrick van Aanholt and future captain Luka Milivojevic would transform Palace’s fortunes.

Four wins on the spin from February – including a victory away at Chelsea which saw Zaha and Benteke score twice in as many minutes – lifted Allardyce’s side out of the relegation zone.

Safety was all but secured with another impressive run, beating Arsenal 3-0 at Selhurst Park before a Christian Benteke double saw the Belgian come back to haunt his former club at Anfield.

Another season of ups and downs, but a Premier League side Palace remained.

The stats

Position: 14th
Top scorer: Christian Benteke (15)
Most appearances: Joel Ward (38)
Clean sheets: Wayne Hennessey (7)

Club
First-team

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