Sporty.com - Sporty App
App
Log In
article-image

Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City: Eze seals club's first-major trophy in FA Cup final

0
0
Clock Icon5 hoursSoccer

Crystal Palace won their first-ever major trophy as they beat Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Eberechi Eze got the all-important goal in the 16th minute, drilling a fine strike into the bottom corner.

Dean Henderson, who survived a potential red card check after touching the ball outside his box, then saved an Omar Marmoush penalty shortly after the half-hour mark.

Daniel Munoz thought he had doubled their lead in the second half, but was denied following a VAR check after Ismaila Sarr had interfered with play from an offside position.

Pep Guardiola's side pushed for a late equaliser to force extra time, but Palace were able to hold out for a historic result.

City started on the front foot as they dominated possession, with Henderson called into early action to keep out Erling Haaland's close-range volley and Josko Gvardiol's header.

However, they were caught out by Palace's first attack. Jean-Philippe Mateta spread it out to Munoz, who fizzed a low cross into the box from the right, with Eze finishing it off first time.

At the other end, Henderson endured an eventful first half. He survived a VAR review after handling the ball outside his box when he pushed it away from Haaland, though it was not deemed to have denied a goalscoring opportunity.

He then made two superb saves to protect Palace's lead. He kept Marmoush's 36th-minute penalty out of the bottom-left corner after Tyrick Mitchell had caught Bernardo Silva in the box before getting a strong left arm behind Jeremy Doku's whipped effort shortly after.

Doku saw a similar shot sail just over the crossbar shortly after the break, but it was Palace who thought they had scored the second goal of the game.

Chris Richards' long throw-in caused chaos in the box, and Munoz's drilled shot hit the offside Sarr. A wrong-footed Stefan Ortega kept it out before the Colombian fired in the rebound, but a VAR review saw the goal disallowed.

Adam Wharton and Munoz both made heroic blocks to keep out Kevin De Bruyne and Nico O'Reilly, respectively, before Henderson twice denied debutant Claudio Echeverri as Palace held out for the victory.

Eagles soar to glory

Palace had not had the best luck in previous FA Cup finals, coming unstuck against Manchester United in both 1990 and 2016, but against the other club from the city, they finally found an answer.

They were happy to soak up the pressure in the opening stages, and their tactics paid off as they scored from a counter-attack. In fact, they hit the back of the net with what was their first shot of the match and first touch in City's box.

And no surprise that it was Eze who made the mark. He has been involved in five goals in his last five FA Cup matches (four goals, one assist).

But Munoz made just as big an impact as he was not picked up down the right. He has been directly involved in 13 goals in all competitions this season (six goals, seven assists), the joint-most of any Premier League defender.

While they continued to show a threat on the break, it was their defensive work that ultimately got the job done. They have conceded just one goal in the 2024-25 FA Cup and held firm against a team that had netted 17.

Palace are the first English club to win their first major title since Wigan Athletic in the 2012-13 FA Cup, who also beat City in the final that year.

City's blues go on

Haaland described City's season as "horrific" in the build-up to the club's 14th FA Cup final, with this their last shot at a trophy this season.

And having won their last three meetings with Palace in the competition by an aggregate score of 18-4, as well as enjoying a seven-match unbeaten run against them in all competitions (W4 D3), City would have fancied their chances.

City dominated possession, having 80.7% of the ball in the first half, but despite getting four of their eight shots on target, there was no way through Henderson before the break.

Some eyebrows were raised when Marmoush stepped up to take the penalty with Haaland on the pitch, but the Norwegian has now gone six appearances at Wembley without hitting the net, including four in the FA Cup.

They continued to knock at the door in the second half, but despite camping out in Palace's half for much of it, they only managed to get two of their 15 shots in that period on target.

City did win the Community Shield at the start of the campaign, but they finish without any of the four major trophies in their grasp for the first time since Guardiola's first campaign in 2016-17.