Glory all over. After 119 years, and two previous final defeats, Crystal Palace’s name is finally on the cup. A 1-0 win over Manchester City has given them the first major silverware in their history, leaving their ecstatic fans to lose themselves in the moment.
Such scenes of euphoria and romance are what it’s supposed to be about. That angst the supporters felt in those final 10 minutes of stoppage time turned to joy like they’ve never known. And there was a fitting element of vintage FA Cup magic to this victory over Pep Guardiola’s side, which will of course go down as a great upset.
That name on the trophy didn’t just apply to the tangible act of inscribing “Crystal Palace” on that famous silverware. Very early on in the game, it just felt like it was going to finally be the club’s day.
So many breaks were going their way. All of the season’s fine performers in this burgeoning team stepped up and went beyond. If Palace’s name was on the cup, Dean Henderson’s name will likely be synonymous with the 2025 final. His 36th-minute penalty stop from Omar Marmoush was the pick of a series of brilliant saves.
An extremely agitated Pep Guardiola, who ended a frustrating game by confronting Henderson when he tried to shake his hand, might well complain the goalkeeper shouldn’t even have been on the pitch. Henderson’s apparent handball outside the area as Erling Haaland bore down on goal was not ruled on by the officials. It was just one more moment that went Palace’s way, the sort of controversy that just furthers the folklore of the day.
By the same token, Henderson wasn’t even man of the match. That surprisingly went to Daniel Munoz, although he was also sensational. One late interception to stop a Nico O’Reilly chance from a fine Kevin De Bruyne through ball encapsulated the depth of effort that Palace went to. This was one of those performances that is a victory of sheer will and desire, all of that amplifying Oliver Glasner’s tactical masterclass. They did a number on City, even if it was by one goal.
There was then the player that so fittingly scored that goal, after just 16 minutes. Palace’s historic match-winner was their great star, the player of this FA Cup season, Eberechi Eze.
His goal came from a vintage breakaway, and in hindsight feels like the only way this game could have been decided.
Eze surged into the space where Guardiola would usually have a defensive midfielder, but this time opted not to. The brilliant Munoz played it across and Eze finished, for the moment of his life. City were left pointing fingers at each other, for scenes that were to be repeated throughout a highly emotional game. That surprising line-up was in some ways vintage Guardiola, although may well deepen this increasing talk that he is past his best.
Having looked like they might salvage an unusually dismal season, City now have that sense of fin de siecle again. Where Palace were tight, honed and that glorious hunger of a team on the up, Guardiola’s side once again looked stale and emotionally fatigued.
There is dysfunction there. There was also just confusion. Guardiola continued with some of these decisions during the game. More eyebrows were raised when Marmoush stepped up for that penalty over Erling Haaland, though the Spaniard later revealed the players decided who would take the spot kick. The Norwegian may have missed three of his last seven, but was this really the time to take it off him?
It was certainly Henderson’s time. Palace themselves felt justice was done given that Tyrick Mitchell seemed to touch the ball in that strong challenge on Bernardo Silva.
Guardiola later opted to give 19-year-old Claudio Echeverri his club debut in the most severe heat of the final. The Argentinian was brought on over Jack Grealish.
And yet it was still De Bruyne, City’s notional holding midfielder and a star not being given a new contract, who was their sole source of true creativity. He offered yet another pass to his personal highlights reel.
There was just no one to finish. That wasn’t all City’s profligacy, or angst.
It was mostly that Palace put absolutely everything into it. They didn’t let City move. There was always a Palace player there, usually Munoz, Adam Wharton, Maxence Lacroix, Chris Richards or Marc Guehi before he had to go off.
If City did manage to get past, there was Henderson, also playing the hand of his life.
It was just another fitting element to the day that Palace’s win was founded on their robustness, and what might well be one of the best defences in the Premier League. They might even be one of the finest counter-attacking sides in Europe – where they are now going, also for the first time in their history, into the Europa League.
That is Glasner’s effect.
After victories like this, there is an inclination to talk about interest from elsewhere. So many clubs want Guehi, Wharton, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Munoz, the manager and, of course, Eze.
It shouldn’t be about that, though.
It should be about those scenes in the west end of the stadium, and what the players did on the pitch to cause such jubilation.
A glorious throwback final, that evoked the best of the FA Cup, has given Palace joy like they’ve never had before.
