Premier League sides including Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City were joined by European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, and Borussia Dortmund in a highly competitive “best-vs-best” environment.
Palace secured their place in the competition through the U15 National Qualifiers earlier this season, finishing seventh on goal difference in a tightly contested standings where six sides were level on nine points…
Drawn in a challenging Group A, Palace faced Manchester United, Juventus, and eventual champions Newcastle United, with each side playing three group-stage fixtures for a place in the semi-finals.
The young Eagles made an impressive start, opening their campaign with a 2–0 victory over Italian giants Juventus on Friday to top the group after the first round of matches and signal their intent.
However, results proved mixed across the remainder of the group stage. Palace were beaten by Newcastle before Manchester United ran out 3–1 winners in the final fixture.
Despite finishing level on three points with Juventus, Palace placed fourth in Group A on goal difference, narrowly missing out on progression to the knockout stages.
The young Eagles responded well in the pool of friendly fixtures, rounding off their campaign with a comfortable 2–0 victory over Sunderland.
Newcastle, who Palace faced in the group stage, went on to lift the trophy, highlighting the quality of opposition encountered, while Man United pushed eventual finalists Manchester City all the way in a closely contested semi-final.
The competition forms part of the Premier League’s commitment to providing young players with the opportunity to face international and out-of-region opposition in a high-performance environment.
A strong showing from Palace against top-level opposition, providing a valuable learning experience and reflecting a great effort all round!
All our results are listed below!
