# 2019–20 Crystal Palace F.C. season

The 2019–20 season was Crystal Palace's seventh consecutive season in the Premier League (extending their longest ever spell in the top division of English football) and the 114th year in their history. In this season, Palace participated in the Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2019 to 26 July 2020 as the season was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

## Season summary
### August

Crystal Palace started the 2019–20 season relatively positively, with a 0–0 draw at home to Everton. The next week Palace lost 1–0 to newly promoted Sheffield United, with John Lundstram scoring the only goal early in the second half. Palace got their first two goals of the season in a shock 2–1 win at Manchester United. Jordan Ayew scored midway through the first half, with Daniel James thinking he'd rescued a point for Manchester United with his curling equaliser late on. However, Patrick van Aanholt scored past the goalkeeper at the near post winning the game for Crystal Palace in stoppage time. Palace then entered the EFL Cup in the second round, being drawn at home to League Two Colchester United. After a 0–0 draw, Palace lost the penalty shootout after Andros Townsend’s penalty was saved by goalkeeper Dean Gerken. Back in the Premier League, Palace beat Aston Villa 1–0, but the game turned toxic after a decision by referee Kevin Friend to disallow a late equaliser by Henri Lansbury.

### September

After the international break, Crystal Palace were back in action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, losing 4–0, with goals from Son Heung-Min, Erik Lamela and a Patrick van Aanholt own goal. The first home game in September came against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Palace took the lead early in the second half thanks to a fortunate own goal from Leander Dendoncker, but could not hold on due to Diogo Jota’s last-gasp equaliser. The next game was also at Selhurst Park, a 2–0 win over Norwich City with goals from Andros Townsend and a Luka Milivojević penalty.

### October

Palace started October strongly, where despite going 1–0 down to Sebastien Haller’s goal for West Ham United, a Luka Milivojević penalty levelled the game. Jordan Ayew then scored a late winner, initially ruled out for offside but given by VAR. After an international break, Palace were back at Selhurst Park against Manchester City where goals from Gabriel Jesus and David Silva downed the high-spirited Eagles. The next game was away to Arsenal, where despite going 2–0 down with goals from Sokratis and David Luiz after just 10 minutes, a stunning fightback ensued with a Luka Milivojević penalty and a header from Jordan Ayew levelled the game at 2–2. Sokratis then had a late winner disallowed by VAR due to a foul on Luka Milivojević.

## Pre-season

Palace confirmed their pre-season schedule in June 2019. A friendly against Barnet was also confirmed.

## Competitions
### Premier League

Palace competed in the Premier League for the seventh year in a row, and finished the season in 14th place.

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Everton | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 49 |
| 13 | Newcastle United | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 44 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 43 |
| 15 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 41 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 39 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source:

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | W | W | L | D | W | W | L | D | L | L | L | W | W | D | D | L | W | D | D | D | D | L | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | D |
| Position | 10 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

#### Matches

The Premier League fixtures for the season were announced on 13 June 2019, with Palace's first match a home match against Everton.

### FA Cup

Crystal Palace entered the FA Cup in the third round, in early January 2020, along with the other 19 Premier League teams. They were drawn at home to Championship team Derby County, and lost the game by a single goal.

### EFL Cup

The second round draw was made on 13 August 2019 following the conclusion of all but one first-round matches. Palace were drawn at home against Colchester United, and, after a goal-less game, were knocked out in a penalty shoot-out.

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 20 June 2020
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Joel Ward |
| 3 | DF | NED | Patrick van Aanholt |
| 4 | MF | SRB | Luka Milivojević (Captain) |
| 5 | DF | ENG | James Tomkins |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Scott Dann |
| 7 | MF | GER | Max Meyer |
| 8 | MF | SEN | Cheikhou Kouyaté |
| 9 | FW | GHA | Jordan Ayew |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Andros Townsend |
| 11 | FW | CIV | Wilfried Zaha |
| 12 | DF | FRA | Mamadou Sakho |
| 13 | GK | WAL | Wayne Hennessey |
| 15 | DF | GHA | Jeffrey Schlupp |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | BEL | Christian Benteke |
| 18 | MF | SCO | James McArthur |
| 19 | GK | IRL | Stephen Henderson |
| 22 | MF | IRL | James McCarthy |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Gary Cahill |
| 31 | GK | ESP | Vicente Guaita |
| 32 | DF | CRO | Nikola Tavares |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Martin Kelly |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Sam Woods |
| 39 | DF | ENG | Tyrick Mitchell |
| 40 | MF | ENG | Brandon Pierrick |
| 44 | MF | NED | Jaïro Riedewald |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 27 July 2020
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 13 | GK | WAL | Wayne Hennessey | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | GK | IRL | Stephen Henderson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | ESP | Vicente Guaita | 35 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Joel Ward | 29 | 0 | 27+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NED | Patrick van Aanholt | 29 | 3 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | James Tomkins | 19 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Scott Dann | 17 | 0 | 14+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | FRA | Mamadou Sakho | 14 | 0 | 11+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Gary Cahill | 27 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Martin Kelly | 21 | 0 | 17+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Sam Woods | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | DF | ENG | Tyrick Mitchell | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | SRB | Luka Milivojević | 32 | 3 | 28+3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | GER | Max Meyer | 19 | 0 | 6+11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | SEN | Cheikhou Kouyaté | 36 | 1 | 29+6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Andros Townsend | 25 | 1 | 14+10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | GHA | Jeffrey Schlupp | 17 | 3 | 11+6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | SCO | James McArthur | 38 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | IRL | James McCarthy | 35 | 0 | 16+17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | ENG | Brandon Pierrick | 3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | NED | Jaïro Riedewald | 19 | 0 | 7+10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | GHA | Jordan Ayew | 39 | 9 | 37 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | CIV | Wilfried Zaha | 39 | 4 | 37+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | BEL | Christian Benteke | 25 | 2 | 13+11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Connor Wickham | 8 | 1 | 0+6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who left the club during the season ||||||||||||
| 20 | FW | TUR | Cenk Tosun | 5 | 1 | 2+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ESP | Víctor Camarasa | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

    As of 27 July 2020
| No. | Pos. | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 9 | FW | Jordan Ayew | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 11 | FW | Wilfried Zaha | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | DF | Patrick van Aanholt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | MF | Luka Milivojević | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 15 | MF | Jeffrey Schlupp | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | FW | Christian Benteke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | DF | James Tomkins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | Cheikhou Kouyaté | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | Andros Townsend | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | FW | Cenk Tosun | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | FW | Connor Wickham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| — | — | Own goal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | 29 | 0 | 0 | 29 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 27 July 2020
| No. | Pos. | Name | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| 4 | MF | Luka Milivojević | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 22 | MF | James McCarthy | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | James McArthur | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Jordan Ayew | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | James Tomkins | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Wilfried Zaha | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Christian Benteke | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2 | DF | Joel Ward | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Cheikhou Kouyaté | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Mamadou Sakho | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | Jeffrey Schlupp | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Gary Cahill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Max Meyer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | Vicente Guaita | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | DF | Tyrick Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 62 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 3 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 6 July 2019 | GK | Stephen Henderson | Nottingham Forest | Free transfer |
| 25 July 2019 | CF | Jordan Ayew | Swansea City | £2.5M |
| 5 August 2019 | CB | Gary Cahill | Chelsea | Free transfer |
| 7 August 2019 | CM | James McCarthy | Everton | Undisclosed |
| 22 January 2020 | MF | Scott Banks | Dundee United | Undisclosed |
| 3 February 2020 | CB | Jay Rich-Baghuelou | Welling United | Undisclosed |
| 21 July 2020 | FB | Nathan Ferguson | Free agent | Tribunal |

### Loans in

| Start date | Position | Nationality | Name | From | End date | Ref. |
| 7 August 2019 | CM | | Víctor Camarasa | Real Betis | 13 January 2020 | |
| 10 January 2020 | CF | | Cenk Tosun | Everton | 30 June 2020 | |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2019 | LB | Tyler Brown | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | MF | Will Donkin | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | DM | Bivesh Gurung | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | LB | Joseph Hungbo | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | LW | Levi Lumeka | Varzim | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Oliver O'Dwyer | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | CM | Jason Puncheon | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | CM | Bakary Sako | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | LB | Pape Souaré | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | GK | Julián Speroni | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | RB | Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Manchester United | £50,000,000 |
| 31 January 2020 | FW | James Daly | Bristol Rovers | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2020 | GK | Dion-Curtis Henry | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | MF | Kian Flanagan | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | RW | Jason Lokilo | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CB | Jacob Mensah | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | GK | Joe Tupper | Free agent | Released |

### Loans out

| Start date | Position | Name | To | End date |
| 4 August 2019 | CF | Alexander Sørloth | Trabzonspor | End of 20–21 season |
| 23 August 2019 | CB | Ryan Inniss | Newport County | End of season |
| 31 August 2019 | CB | Jarosław Jach | Raków Częstochowa | End of season |
| 6 September 2019 | GK | Joe Tupper | Margate | End of season |
| 22 January 2020 | CB | Sam Woods | Hamilton Academical | End of season |
| 31 January 2020 | AM | Scott Banks | Alloa Athletic | End of season |
| 31 January 2020 | GK | Dion-Curtis Henry | Hampton & Richmond Borough | End of season |
| 31 January 2020 | RW | Jason Lokilo | Doncaster Rovers | 30 June 2020 |
| 31 January 2020 | MF | Giovanni McGregor | Dartford | End of season |
| 31 January 2020 | CF | Connor Wickham | Sheffield Wednesday | End of season |