On a bright sunshiny afternoon at Wembley today, football history was made, as Crystal Palace won their first major trophy in their 119-year history as a professional outfit and 164 years as an association football club. They were there when the first ever FA Cup was played, reaching the semifinals in 1871-72. They had reached the final twice since, in 1989-90 and 2015-16, losing to Manchester United both times. But today, today was their day.
With the win, Palace also get a spot in next year’s Europa League. The only other time they played in a European competition was during a brief campaign in the 1998 Intertoto Cup, which barely qualified as a European competition in the first place.
The match itself wasn’t all that great. Cup finals often aren’t, and everyone knows how to handle Manchester City’s gameplan these days — which doesn’t make for a great watch, usually. Executing it properly is of course another question entirely, but Palace did so brilliantly indeed. They scored on a counter (Daniel Muñoz setting up Eberechi Eze), they saved a penalty, and they defended solidly with all eleven players behind the ball.
Chelsea loanee Ben Chilwell unfortunately did not get to actually play in the final, but he was there on the bench and in among the celebrations. Chilly had featured in three of the previous four rounds of the competition, starting once, against Millwall in the Round of 16. Overall, since joining in January, he’s made 10 appearances and that one start during his loan, which is not exactly a lot, but still infinitely better than rotting in the Chelsea reserves. What the future may hold for him is unclear, but hopefully he can find a better situation somewhere for his career.
And also congrats to former Chelsea prospect Marc Guéhi, who was forced off with a concussion in the second half, but was there to lift the trophy with the team. The 24-year-old center back is expected to be in great demand this summer in the transfer market, with Chelsea potentially also interested (and not for the first time) in bringing him back.
FBL-ENG-FACUP-CRYSTAL PALACE-MAN CITY