Crystal Palace were crowned FA Cup champions for the first time in the club’s 120-year history after a stunning 1-0 victory over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Eberechi Eze’s decisive first-half strike was enough to seal the historic win, as the Eagles pulled off a major upset against a City side that dominated possession and created more chances throughout the game.
Pep Guardiola’s team, led by Erling Haaland in attack and Kevin De Bruyne orchestrating from midfield, had the lion’s share of the ball but failed to make it count. Stefan Ortega was preferred in goal over Ederson Moraes, while Palace fielded their strongest XI, with Jean-Philippe Mateta up front and Eze as the creative spark.
City began the match with their trademark control, boasting nearly 80% possession in the opening stages. Haaland came close to scoring at the back post, but Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson made a crucial save to keep the scores level.
Despite being pinned in their own half, Palace capitalised on their second venture forward. Daniel Muñoz led a swift counterattack, which ended with Eze firing home what would become the match-winning goal.
Related News
The game saw controversy shortly after, when Henderson appeared to handle the ball just outside the area to deny Haaland. Though there were calls for a red card, VAR ruled the Palace keeper would not be sent off as Haaland was deemed to be moving away from goal.
Manchester City had a golden opportunity to equalise when Bernardo Silva was brought down in the box. Surprisingly, Haaland allowed Omar Marmoush to take the penalty, but Henderson again came to Palace’s rescue, diving low to his right to save.
Palace thought they had doubled their lead early in the second half when Ismaila Sarr’s run from a deep throw-in resulted in a goal, but the flag went up for offside.
City kept pressing for an equaliser, with Jeremy Doku and Haaland both squandering chances late on. In the end, Palace held firm to record their first win over Manchester City in nine meetings and secure a historic FA Cup triumph.
For Manchester City, the loss marked the end of the season without silverware — the first time the Guardiola era has finished trophy-less since his debut campaign in 2016/17.