Crystal Palace defeated Manchester City 1-0 in the final of the FA Cup at the Wembley Stadium to win the first major trophy in their 120 years of existence. Here’s how it affects the European spots in the Premier League, particularly the one for the UEFA Conference League.
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The ongoing football season in Europe has witnessed several firsts; Newcastle United ended a 70-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup, defeating Liverpool in the final. Italian club Bologna FC ended a 51-year wait for a trophy after winning Coppa Italia, beating AC Milan in the final. English striker Harry Kane too won the first major trophy of his career after helping Bayern Munich clinch their 34th Bundesliga title this season.
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Crystal Palace’s victory historic 1-0 over Manchester City in the final of the FA Cup on Saturday, however, might just take the cake. Unlike Newcastle and Bologna, who have won the top division in their respective countries, Palace just won the first major trophy in their 120 years of existence.
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Eberechi Eze put ‘The Eagles’ ahead in the 16th minute and the Palace defence thwarted multiple attacks from their opponents for the remainder of the game, ensuring Pep Guardiola’s City – a team that appeared nearly invincible not too long ago – finished trophyless in the 2024-25 season, for the first time in eight years.
Worth the wait ❤️@CPFC lifting the first major trophy of their history is our @emirates Moment of the Round 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CXDcpxbCpS
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) May 17, 2025
Things could have been vastly different had Omar Marmoush converted a first-half penalty instead of getting blocked by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson. Oliver Glasner’s spirited side, however, held firm to finally emerge triumphant in an FA Cup final after finishing runners-up in 1990 and 2016 – losing to Manchester United on both occasions.
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How Palace’s epic triumph affects the Premier League’s qualification for European competitions
The London club’s historic victory earned them a spot in the next season of the Europa League, where they will be making only their second appearance in a European competition after the 1998-99 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
And things have been fairly dramatic in the Premier League this season as far as qualification for Europe is concerned, with six English teams set to play in the 2025-26 Champions League – the top-five teams in the standings at the end of the season and one of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, the two finalists in the ongoing Europa League.
Liverpool have already clinched the Premier League while Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest are fighting for the remaining four Champions League spots.
The Premier League normally receives four spots for the Champions League, but gets an extra spot for being among two of the best associations in Uefa’s association club coefficient rankings.
The English top flight also gets two Europa League spots. The first one’s awarded to the team that finishes fifth on the standings (sixth this season) and the other to the winner of the FA Cup, which has gone to Crystal Palace.
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And the only Conference League spot goes to the team that wins the League Cup – Newcastle United.
Newcastle, however, are third on the table at present and could end up qualifying for the Champions League, meaning the Conference League spot could be awarded on the basis of the final standing at the end of the season – which would be the team finishing seventh if Newcastle finish among the top six.
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