Oliver Glasner's men made history at Wembley with a hard-fought victory in a pulsating showdown under the arch
Crystal Palace won a trophy for the first time in their 119-year history after beating heavy favourites Manchester City 1-0 in Saturday's FA Cup final.
Eberechi Eze's first-half strike was all that separated the two sides as Oliver Glasner's men became immortals among the south London faithful, who will remember the date of May 17, 2025 forever.
Despite having little-to-no possession in the opening exchanges, Palace took the lead just after a quarter of an hour. A composed goal-kick routine eventually saw Jean-Philippe Mateta hold the ball up for Daichi Kamada, whose switch of play found Daniel Munoz galloping freely down the right, and his cutback picked out Eze to sweep home.
There was a lengthy VAR check for a possible red card against Dean Henderson when he palmed the ball away from Erling Haaland just outside his box, but the striker was deemed to have been going away from goal and had defenders surrounding him, so it was not seen as the denial of an obvious scoring opportunity and the game continued at 11-v-11.
Soon after though, Palace conceded a penalty when Tyrick Mitchell felled Bernardo Silva with a lunging slide tackle, despite replays suggesting he did get a toe on the ball. Omar Marmoush stepped up but was thwarted by Henderson, who made a spectacular low save to his right.
Palace had to withstand more pressure after the break before going down the other end and putting the ball in the net again. City failed to deal with a long throw-in from Chris Richards, and Munoz's effort bounced off Ismaila Sarr and squirmed away from goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, with the Colombian crashing in to send the fans behind the goal into bedlam. However, Sarr was judged to have been offside when the first shot hit him and the effort was chalked off.
Pep Guardiola's men threw the kitchen sink at the Eagles to try and find an equaliser. Debutant Claudio Echeverri was next in line to lose a game of wits with Henderson between the sticks before the game headed into ten minutes of added time.
But Palace survived through that excruciatingly long period of stoppage time to get their hands on the club's first piece of major silverware.
GOAL rates Crystal Palace's players from Wembley…
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Dean Henderson (9/10):
The protagonist of the final. Got away with swiping the ball from Haaland's toe with his hand when outside his own box, before coming up with a top save to keep put Marmoush from the penalty spot – his fourth from the last eight he's had to face. Made several other stops to thwart City.
Chris Richards (7/10):
Batted away imminent danger from down his side by clearance or header. His long throw almost proved problematic for City too, creating the chaotic conditions for Munoz's disallowed goal.
Maxence Lacroix (7/10):
Had to be alert to keep quiet Haaland as City's most central threat, and even though the Norwegian was heavily involved, it was rarely in dangerous areas.
Marc Guehi (7/10):
Defended dutifully before having to be subbed with an injury for Lerma shortly after Munoz's disallowed goal.
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Daniel Munoz (8/10):
Denied a once-in-a-lifetime moment with VAR ruling his goal out for offside. Nevertheless embodied everything about Palace's performance, flying in full-blooded with every action and coming up with an assist for Eze's opener.
Adam Wharton (7/10):
A touch of class in the midfield battle once more, bringing calmness on a frantic up-and-down day. Replaced by Hughes for the closing stages.
Daichi Kamada (7/10):
Dug in deep defensively, once more proving adept at playing in a deeper role. Swept up to allow Wharton to focus more on progressing play.
Tyrick Mitchell (6/10):
Threatened to cost his side with his foul on Silva inside the penalty area, but Henderson saved the wing-back's bacon with a superb save.
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Ismaila Sarr (6/10):
Less involved here than in his two-goal showing against Aston Villa in the semi-final. Gave Palace an outlet to get in behind and kept City on their toes with his trademark pace.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (7/10):
Selfless in attack, continually bringing others into play and notably playing a hand in Eze's goal. Taken off for Nketiah late on.
Eberechi Eze (8/10):
It had to be Eze. He provided the magic in the quarters and semis, it was only right he had the decisive say in the final too. An immortal of Palace whatever he does now for the rest of his life.
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Jefferson Lerma (6/10):
Came on at centre-back for the injured Guehi.
Eddie Nketiah (6/10):
Brought on for Mateta but at that point Palace had little intent on attacking.
Will Hughes (N/A):
Replaced Wharton for the final few minutes.
Oliver Glasner (9/10):
Palace were humbled 5-2 by City only a few weeks back, but that feels like a lifetime ago now judging by this much-improved performance. Glasner will never have to buy a pint in south London again.
