FOOTBALL, historically speaking, has always enjoyed the triumph of the underdog. The rich history of the game is littered with stories of over-achieving minnows, unexpected champions and battles against overwhelming odds. This is what made football so appealing down the decades. We remember great teams, but we also recall great moments: Walsall beating the mighty Arsenal in the 1930s, Colchester United stunning over ultra-professional Leeds in 1971, Dickie Guy’s penalty save, Wimbledon’s “crazy gang” win and more recently, Wigan beating Manchester City in 2013. As football has become a tale of systems, data analysis and money, shocks are fewer and the gap between those with resources and those without has arguably never been wider.
Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win over Manchester City will become one of those tales that once made the competition such a catalogue of romance. Palace are not exactly minnows, but before facing a City team whose sky blue is now looking a little faded, the club had never won a major trophy. If City and their like sit behind gilded gates, Palace are one of the clubs looking through the railings, peering enviously at the landed gentry of modern football. And yet, the FA Cup has many links with their part of South London; the original amateur club called Crystal Palace played in the inaugural competition in 1871-72 and between 1894 and 1914, the final was hosted at the Crystal Palace stadium, often in front of huge crowds.
Palace are a club that most football people have some affection for (Millwall and Brighton aside, of course). Selhurst is one of the grounds that epitomises the classic and authentic football experience, they have decent fans and their red and blue shirts are attractively vibrant. We all respected players like Jim Cannon, Steve Kember, Peter Taylor, Vince Hilaire and Wrighty and Brighty, but we never ever expected them to seriously challenge for honours. But there was a feeling they might just do it against a City side that has lost its way a little in 2024-25.
Nothing lasts forever, although City were doing a pretty good job of becoming perpetual champions. It is something of a relief that their overwhelming dominance has come to an end, although it may only be a hiccup. Football was becoming boring in terms of “he who spends, wins”, but in 2024-25, Newcastle United – admittedly well funded by Saudi Arabia – picked up their first silverware since 1969 and now Palace have, at last, stepped up to the winners’ rostrum. All it needs is for Tottenham Hotspur to win the Europa League and this season will become known as the year of the underachiever.
On paper, City should have comfortably won the FA Cup. The 14 players who appeared in the game cost the club £ 450 million-plus, while Palace’s were assembled for £ 146 million. City’s wage bill in 2024, from revenues of £ 715 million, totalled £ 413 million, compared to the £ 134 million paid by Palace from total earnings of £ 189 million. Since 2016-17, Palace have beaten City just twice, both at the Etihad, but have also suffered some drubbings along the way.
Palace beating City restores our faith in the game in some ways and also further chips away at the aura around Pep Guardiola. The man is not invincible and neither are his team. The difference between players who cost £ 50 million-plus and those under £ 20 million is not two and a half times. Palace have some players, some of which – matchwinner Eberechi Eze and centre-half Marc Guéhi for example – are coveted by other clubs. It may well be that Palace are one of the clubs that are getting it very right when it comes to scouring the market and using data to inform their decision-making.
They also have a very good coach in Oliver Glasner, who have a track record of winning trophies. The FA Cup is his fifth major prize after lifting the Austrian Cup (twice with Ried) and the Europa League and DFB Pokal (both with Eintracht Frankfurt). After a poor start to the season, in which Palace lost five and drew three, Glasner’s side have won 12 of 28 games and lost six. Their away record is better than their home, with seven of their 12 wins secured on their travels.
The smiling face of Glasner contrasted with the grimace on Guardiola’s face, along with his verbal exchange with Palace’s hero of the hour, Dean Henderson, whose display and penalty save will be filed alongside goalkeeping performances from Jim Montgomery (1973) and Dave Beasant (1988). Henderson’s block on Erling Haaland, which certainly looked as though it was outside the penalty area, was the controversial moment of the final and Guardiola was clearly unhappy afterwards. Whatever he said to Henderson – and the lipreaders have suggested it was not congratulatory – the decision to allow the incident to pass without punishment was not made by the Palace goalkeeper. Managers should be judged by the way they take defeat or setbacks, not by their behaviour as winners. Guardiola claimed when interviewed on TV that it was “not my business” and that he didn’t say anything to Henderson.
Now, of course, Palace’s biggest challenge may be in keeping their talent at Selhurst Park. They can now offer their players European football for the first time (if you exclude the Anglo-Italian Cup and Intertoto) in the form of the Europa League. Almost 120 years after the formation of the first professional club bearing the Crystal Palace name, they have truly arrived in the winners’ enclosure. That should make us all happy for it demonstrates football can still deliver the occasional surprise. As for City, they will surely be back, knocking at that door again next season.
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)