Crystal Palace made history on Saturday by defeating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley, claiming their first major trophy in 120 years.
Eberechi Eze scored the decisive goal in the 16th minute, volleying home from Daniel Munoz’s cross to cap his remarkable journey from rejected youth prospect to cup final hero.
The match turned on two key moments involving Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson. First, he survived a VAR check for a potential handball outside his area when rushing out to challenge Erling Haaland, with officials ruling it was “not an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.” Then just before halftime, Henderson made a crucial penalty save from Omar Marmoush after City surprisingly allowed the Egyptian forward to take the spot-kick instead of Haaland.
Henderson produced a man-of-the-match performance with seven saves, including a spectacular stop to deny Jeremy Doku’s curling effort bound for the top corner in the second half. His heroics preserved Palace’s lead and secured their historic victory under manager Oliver Glasner, who outmaneuvered Pep Guardiola’s tactical gamble of fielding an attack-heavy lineup without a defensive midfielder.
For Manchester City, the defeat marks a disappointing end to what will be their first trophyless season since 2016-17. Despite dominating possession and creating numerous chances, Guardiola’s side lacked their usual cutting edge, continuing their recent struggles in big games.
The City manager had defended his unconventional lineup before kickoff, saying he trusted in “talent,” but saw his decision backfire as Palace’s compact defensive block frustrated his star-studded attack.
The victory represents a remarkable turnaround for Palace under Glasner, who only took charge in February. It avenges their 2016 FA Cup final loss to Manchester United and secures Europa League football next season – just the second European qualification in the club’s history.
As Palace’s fans celebrated late into the night, City were left to regroup ahead of crucial Premier League matches against Bournemouth and Fulham as they try to salvage Champions League qualification from a difficult season.