Eberechi Eze was Crystal Palace’s hero as the Eagles stunned Manchester City in the FA Cup final to secure the club’s first major silverware.
Favourites Man City dominated the early stages at Wembley, but were rocked by a counter attack which saw Daniel Munoz feed Eze to fire Palace ahead.
Palace survived two major scares in the first half, with Dean Henderson first avoiding being sent off for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity for handling outside his box.
Henderson then came to Palace’s rescue by saving a penalty from Omar Marmoush, after Bernardo Silva was brought down in the box.
The Eagles thought they have doubled their lead in the second half through Daniel Munoz due to Ismaila Sarr standing in an offside position. However, Oliver Glasner’s side held off a Man City onslaught to win the FA Cup for the first time.
Mail Sport’s AADAM PATEL was at Wembley and rates the players from both sides.
Eberechi Eze scored the winner as Crystal Palace beat Man City 1-0 to win the FA Cup
Eze turned in a cross from Daniel Munoz to give the Eagles a first half lead at Wembley
Dean Henderson produced a penalty save from Omar Marmoush to preserve their advantage
CRYSTAL PALACE (3-4-2-1):
Dean Henderson (8)
Made some solid saves including a brilliant stop to keep out Omar Marmoush’s penalty but was incredibly fortunate not to get a red card for handling the ball outside the box.
Daniel Munoz (9)
The Colombian was superb, getting the assist for Eze’s goal. Was so unlucky to have his goal ruled out too in the second-half. Caused problems all game and was the man of the match.
Chris Richards (8)
One of the standout Palace players and made dealing with Haaland look easy. What a performance.
Maxence Lacroix (8)
Like Richards, he was solid and ensured that City had no way through the middle of the Palace defence. Having an excellent season.
Marc Guehi (7)
Part of a back three that were all outstanding. Though he got injured and was replaced in the 61st minute for Jefferson Lerma.
Dean Henderson was lucky not to be sent off before producing a fine penalty save
Daniel Munoz had a man of the match display, providing an assist and having a goal ruled out
Adam Wharton came back into the Palace side and was integral to everything they did
Tyrick Mitchell (6.5)
Made a stupid foul on Bernardo Silva to give away the penalty but apart from that, he was terrific up and down the left flank.
Daichi Kamada (7.5)
Preferred ahead of Jefferson Lerma in midfield and he was quality, including a goal-saving block to deny Silva.
Adam Wharton (7.5)
Back in the side and so integral to everything Palace did. Makes football look easy. What a player.
Ismaila Sarr (6.5)
Missed a big chance at 1-0 and was offside in the build-up to Munoz’s disallowed goal but the semi-final hero was relentless and constantly asked questions of Man City.
Eberechi Eze (8.5)
What a finish from a player in the form of his life. Scored in five games in a row and with this strike, etched his name into Crystal Palace and FA Cup history.
Jean-Phillipe Mateta (8)
Had a major part in the goal with some classic centre-forward hold up play and always offered an outlet for Palace. Replaced for Eddie Nketiah in the 78th minute.
Eze is in the form of his life and etched his name into FA Cup and Palace history with the winner
Jean-Phillipe Mateta played a major part in the goal and always offered Palace an outlet
Oliver Glasner had a day he will never forget as his players executed his gameplan to perfection
Substitutes
Jefferson Lerma (7)
Eddie Nketiah (6)
Will Hughes (N/A)
Manager
Oliver Glasner (9)
A day he will never ever forget. His players executed his gameplan to perfection.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1):
Stefan Ortega (5)
Playing in his third consecutive FA Cup final. Not many keepers would have kept out Eze’s strike but Ortega’s positioning was questionable. Was lucky that Munoz’s goal was ruled out too.
Manuel Akanji (5.5)
Started down the right and barely did anything of note. Should have done better to track Eze in the lead up to the goal.
Josko Gvardiol (6)
Had a good chance in the first half but his header was saved. Like the rest of the City defence, caught out by the quality and pace of the Palace counter attack.
Ruben Dias (6)
Complained about Southampton’s style of play last week. Ironic that Palace played in a similar manner with less than 20 per cent possession and managed to beat City.
Nico O’Reilly (5.5)
The 20-year-old didn’t get on the ball enough and was caught out of position defensively for Palace’s goal. Had a huge chance to level but was reluctant to use his weaker foot.
Nico O’Reilly was caught out of position for the goal and missed a huge chance to level
Kevin De Bruyne showed quality in glimpses but his display showed he is on the decline
Bernardo Silva (6.5)
Started off in a deeper role ahead of the City defence and had a decent game. Did well to get the penalty and was denied a leveller by a wonderful block from Kamada.
Kevin De Bruyne (5.5)
Showed his quality in glimpses, finding Haaland with a lovely delivery early on but missed a sitter. Ultimately, the kind of performance that showed he’s on the decline.
Savinho (5)
Was on the cover of the programme but he was poor. Got on the ball plenty but lacked any end product and had no attempts on goal. Replaced by Phil Foden in the 76th minute.
Jeremy Doku (7)
Like Savinho, lacked any clinical edge in the final third. To his credit, he did test Henderson four times though and did offer more of a threat than his teammates.
Marmoush’s first FA Cup final will be remembered for his missed penalty in the first half
Erling Haaland failed to step up to take Man City’s penalty and is still yet to score at Wembley
Pep Guardiola overthought his team selection again in a season to forget for the Man City boss
Omar Marmoush (5)
A final where he will be remembered for missing a penalty. It was a good strike but Henderson guessed correctly and made a great save. Taken off for Claudio Echeverri in the 76th minute.
Erling Haaland (4)
Had an early chance saved then failed to step up for the penalty, given his three misses from the spot this season. Remarkably, he has never scored at Wembley
Substitutes
Claudio Echeverri (6)
Phil Foden (6)
Ilkay Gundogan (N/A)
Manager
Pep Guardiola (6)
Yet another final where he overthought things with his team selection. A season to forget.
