Crystal Palace Stun Manchester City to Win First FA Cup in Club History
- David Grey
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
For the first time in their 174-year history, Crystal Palace stunned Manchester City to win the FA Cup. All thanks to a goal from Eberechi Eze in the 16th minute and a penalty save from Dean Henderson — the hero of the night — the Eagles turned the odds to deny Pep Guardiola’s side an FA Cup victory. This further deepens the woes of last season’s winners, who are still fighting for a Champions League spot in a tight Premier League battle.
But this was — as expected — not an easy victory for the London club.
Should Dean Henderson Have Seen Red?
Just before Marmoush stepped up for a penalty against Henderson, the goalkeeper was the subject of a controversial VAR check. In the 24th minute of the game, Josko Gvardiol hurled an overhead pass towards Erling Haaland. After the striker beat Guehi, Henderson was forced to step out of the box to stop the ball, but he just couldn’t get there in time. Haaland tipped his leg forward to poke the ball away from the keeper’s hands, but just before he managed to do that, Dean pushed the ball off with his hands.
At first, it appeared like he was clearly outside the box, but after an extended VAR check, the officials determined that this was not a denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity, putting the goalkeeper off the hook.
Should Haaland Have Taken the Penalty?
In what might sound like a sorry attempt to understand Manchester City’s loss, one question that will undoubtedly be repeated is this: Why didn’t Haaland take the penalty for City? He is, of course, their main man and official penalty taker; in fact, there is reason to believe that with his recent return from injury, this would have been a walk in the park for him — especially given he’s had so much time to practise them.
Was Guardiola Outsmarted by Oliver Glasner?
Just last month, Manchester City came from two goals down to thrash Crystal Palace 5–2 in an impressive league win. After the match, Glasner said, “I told Pep after the game that he can’t play this system (in the final), because we will beat it.”
In the Premier League game, Pep had moved from his traditional tactical style, employing a format that pushed his full-backs high and wide. While this offered a unique dynamism in midfield, it made them more vulnerable on the break.
Today, however, he heeded Glasner’s warning and changed his tactics. The setup featured one full-back inverting into midfield during possession. Save for a poor shot attempt in the second half, Nico O’Reilly did a pretty decent job. But the issue was a lack of a true defensive midfielder — someone who could have broken up counter-attacks, one of which led to the only goal of the game.
The choice of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva in midfield was smart — both offered stability and creativity going forward. But the lack of recovery pace and defensive presence stung harder than Pep might have imagined. Fans will remember the last time Pep went without a defensive midfielder in a final: the 2021 Champions League defeat to Chelsea.
Player Ratings
Crystal Palace
Dean Henderson: Hero of the game; saved a penalty and made six saves inside the box. 9/10
Chris Richards: Did a good job of keeping Doku quiet in the first half. 7/10
Maxence Lacroix: Solid when it mattered. 6.5/10
Marc Guehi: Hopped off with an injury, but not his best day at the office. 6.7/10
Daniel Muñoz: An assist and a disallowed goal? Proper player! 8/10
Adam Wharton: Flashes of brilliance at various points. 7/10
Daichi Kamada: Definitely not his best day out. 6/10
Tyrick Mitchell: Reckless tackle could have cost his team the victory, but he held his head high regardless. 6.5/10
Ismaïla Sarr: No words. 6.5/10
Eberechi Eze: His impressive run of form continued — he netted the winner. 8.5/10
Jean-Philippe Mateta: Hold-up play was impressive, but he just couldn’t crack the City defence. 7.5/10
Substitutes:
Jefferson Lerma: 6/10
Eddie Nketiah: 5.5/10
Will Hughes: N/A
Manchester City
Stefan Ortega: Not tested as many times as his opponent and conceded the goal. 6/10
Nico O’Reilly: Impressive outing for the 20-year-old. 7/10
Josko Gvardiol: Solid performance from the defender; it just wasn’t enough. 8/10
Rúben Dias: Not his best outing. 6.5/10
Manuel Akanji: A stable presence. 7/10
Kevin De Bruyne: Created four chances against a disciplined Palace defence; a tragic end to an illustrious City career. 8.5/10
Bernardo Silva: Won his team a penalty. 7.6/10
Savinho: A decent performance, but one that could have been better. 6/10
Omar Marmoush: 4/10
Jérémy Doku: Best City player other than De Bruyne. 8/10
Erling Haaland: Struggled to make an impact. 5/10
Substitutes:
Claudio Echeverri: Two shots on target and an instant threat. 7/10
Phil Foden: Why did he come on? 3/10
Ilkay Gündoğan: N/A
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