Little over three days after a stalemate at Selhurst against Sunderland, Palace kicked off their 2025/26 domestic Cup campaign – and with quite the occasion to boot: a South London derby in the Carabao Cup third-round against local rivals Millwall. Oliver Glasner opted to make four changes for Cup tie, handing Palace debuts to summer arrivals Walter Benítez in goal and Jaydee Canvot in defence, along with starts for Borna Sosa and Romain Esse – the latter facing his former club for a second time since his January transfer. A typically raucous atmosphere engulfed Selhurst Park upon the players’ entrance, with memories fresh of Palace’s 3-1 win over Millwall en route to winning the FA Cup back in March. But for the remainder of the opening quarter of the game, it was about as close as either side would come, with the two rivals cancelling one another out in a combative affair where the final pass all-too-often was misplaced by both sides. Pino was Palace’s livewire inside the opening 45, and not long after the 25-minute mark went close on two occasions in quick succession.