Fatigue was far from the thoughts of Crystal Palace’s players when they faced Arsenal in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final, according to Will Hughes.
The Eagles’ clash at the Emirates marked their 28th fixture of a relentlessly demanding 2025/26 campaign and was also their third match across three separate competitions in the space of just six days.
Despite the evening ending in the heartbreak of a penalty shootout exit, Hughes and his teammates were able to take plenty of encouragement from battling to a 1-1 draw within normal time against the Premier League leaders.
“Disappointment, obviously,” Hughes said when describing the mood. “Going out on penalties is not nice.
“I think we were a bit sloppy in the first half. We rode our luck at times, but managed to get ourselves into it late in the second-half. It’s always disappointing to lose on penalties.
“It’s easy to say it’s down to tiredness, but you look at the second-half performance, and we were anything but tired. We came into the game stronger as it went on.
“Arsenal are a top team, and you have to look at some points in the game. But I think overall, especially in the second-half, we did well.”
Reflecting on Palace’s congested schedule, Hughes added: “You know, it’s unprecedented how many games we’ve played in the season. For Crystal Palace, I think it’s a first in our history.
“We’ve gone quite far in all the Cups so far, with the FA Cup still to come.”
Hughes entered the contest in the 75th minute following Chris Richards’ injury and spoke about the demands placed on squad players when called upon: “it’s difficult. Everyone thinks you’ve got all the energy to come on, but getting your second wind when the intensity is that high is difficult.
“You just have to catch it as quick as you can and get up to the pace of the game and switch on, because it is difficult, but that’s what we’re there to do. We’re there to come on and impact the game in any way we can.
“I think people are surprised I took [a penalty in the shootout]! I think I’m four for four [in my career]. I wouldn’t say I’m the first to take a penalty, but in a shootout, I’m always confident.
“But it’s disappointing. The quality of penalties was top from both teams. It was going to take something like that to separate us, unfortunately.”