Crystal Palace won their first-ever piece of major silverware, as The Eagles defeated Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final. Eberechi Eze scored the only goal in the game, which was scored in the 16th minute.
Oliver Glasner’s side turned defence into attack leading up to their goal, which started with a goal-kick and ended up with the ball in the back of the net. Palace were second best when it came to controlling possession in the opening 15 minutes, but with their first attack in the match, they made it count.
Daniel Muñoz found himself with plenty of space to run into on the right-hand side, and his pinpoint cross onto the penalty spot found the man of the moment, Eberechi Eze. His first time strike found the bottom corner and beat City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
In the 23rd minute, Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson appeared to push the ball away from Erling Haaland with his hand, outside of the box. The decision went to VAR, but no red card was awarded. Jarred Gillett, who was on VAR duty, judged the handball to have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity for Haaland, so no further action was taken.
10 minutes on, Tyrick Mitchell committed a foul on Bernardo Silva inside the box, giving Pep Guardiola’s side the opportunity to level from the penalty spot. All eyes turned to Haaland, who was expected to take the spot kick, but he passed the ball to Omar Marmoush.
The Egyptian stepped up, but his penalty was saved by Henderson. The former Manchester United man dived low to his right-hand side, getting a strong right hand onto the ball and keeping it out.
The Cityzens were relentless with their attacks and continued to apply pressure on The Eagles, but a strong defensive performance kept Glasner’s team in front.
In the 58th minute, a long throw from Chris Richards found its way through to Muñoz, whose first shot was blocked but he managed to follow up and poke home for the South London club.
But, VAR intervened. The Colombian right-back, who thought he scored, saw his goal disallowed due to offside. His first shot deflected off Ismaila Sarr, who was standing in an offside position. The score remained 1-0.
10 minutes of injury-time was added and the pressure on both sides mounted. Crystal Palace were looking at securing their first ever major trophy in the club’s history, while City stared down back-to-back FA Cup final defeats.
After 101 minutes, the referee blew his whistle for full-time and for the first time ever, Crystal Palace were crowned FA Cup winners.
It was extremely emotional day for the football club, with generations of Palace fans uniting to see their beloved club lift their first major trophy. On the biggest stage at Wembley Stadium, against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, the occasions do not get much bigger than that.
Dean Henderson in his post-match interview was confident in his ability to save the spot kick from City’s Egyptian. “He (Erling Haaland) gave the ball to Marmoush and I knew which way he was going, I knew I would save it.” Dean Henderson said to the BBC. The 28-year-old went on to say: “I lost my Dad at the start of the season and I miss him being here today, but he was with me every kick of the ball today and I dedicate that win to him.”
For the first time in the club’s history, Palace will compete in a European competition, as their win on Saturday secures Europa League football ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Another chance to lift a trophy at Wembley Stadium has been secured as well, with the South London side taking on Liverpool in the Community Shield at the start of next season.
