Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City: Eagles win FA Cup, first-ever major trophy

Crystal Palace beat Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley in an enthralling FA Cup final on Saturday, as the Eagles won their first major trophy in 119 years as a club.

Eberechi Eze scored in the first half and Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s penalty kick as Palace defended superbly and frustrated Pep Guaridola’s Manchester City.

There was a huge moment of controversy in the first half where Henderson handled outside the box with Erling Haaland bearing down on goal, but VAR decided it wasn’t a denial of a goalscoring opportunity and Henderson was not sent off.

With the FA Cup win Oliver Glasner has also taken Palace to the Europa League group stage for next season. Manchester City have now lost in the FA Cup final for the second-straight season and this season they’ve failed to win a trophy for the first time since Guardiola’s first season in charge.

“I can’t really believe it to be honest,” Glasner said. “If you play this game 10 times you win it once. This happened today.”

Palace pull off perfect plan, but City will point to controversial moment

Let’s say this first: Palace deserve their moment and they were excellent to frustrate Manchester City as they pulled off the perfect gameplan to win the FA Cup trophy. Defensively they were so solid and plugged all of the gaps City tried to open up. Daniel Munoz was excellent at wing-back as he set up Eberechi Eze to score the winner and there were so many brilliantly solid displays as every single Palace player did their job. But the decision to not send off Dean Henderson could go down as one of the most controversial moments in FA Cup final history. With Erling Haaland surging towards goal the Palace goalkeeper got it wrong and swiped the ball away from Haaland while he was outside the penalty box. VAR had a look but had this outcome, via the BBC: “The direction in which Erling Haaland was going made it possible, but not an obvious goal scoring opportunity.” The fact that Henderson handled the ball outside the box is clear and it also really looked like the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity. Palace got away with it as Henderson should have been sent off. Post-game he said he “wasn’t bothered” about the incident and Palace’s players played it down. They deserve to revel in their FA Cup glory but it also has to be acknowledged that VAR made a big mistake and Palace should have played a huge chunk of the game down a player.

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City player ratings (via FotMob.com)

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City score: 1-0

Eze 16'

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright

Henderson denies Echeverri

Doku again with some magic and his cross causes chaos. Echeverri has a shot which Henderson saves. Then City want a penalty kick for a handball.

De Bruyne smashes it wide

Doku with some magic out wide and his cross is cleared to De Bruyne but he smashes a shot just wide. Eight minutes of stoppage time to go.

10 minutes of stoppage time!

A huge roar goes up from the Man City fans as it is announced there will be 10 minutes of stoppage time. Can City find a way to take this to extra time?

Echeverri denied by Henderson

De Bruyne sets up youngster Echeverri brilliantly but his shot is straight at Henderson. Palace survive.

Echeverri, Foden on for City

Savinho and Omar Marmoush are off and Phil Foden and Claudio Echeverri are on. The latter is making his Man City debut. Will the 19-year-old Argentine forward be the unlikely hero for City?

O’Reilly with a huge chance, but he takes too much time

Kevin de Bruyne slots in Nico O’Reilly and the City youngster takes too much time in the box as he tries to put the ball on his left foot. Palace block and that is a huge chance for City.

De Bruyne’s shot is blocked by Wharton

City are moving the ball from side to side but Palace aren’t getting dragged out. De Bruyne finds some space on the edge of the box but his powerful effort is blocked by Wharton. He then goes down holding his head and there’s another stoppage in the game. There will be a hefty chunk of stoppage time at the end of this second half, but Palace are just over 15 minutes away from pulling this off.

Marc Guehi comes off

After taking a whack in the face from Wharton’s shot a few minutes ago, Marc Guehi can’t continue and he has to come off. That is a big blow for Palace to lose their goalkeeper. Lerma is on in his place and lines up as the left-sided center back.

Munoz thinks he’s doubled Palace’s lead... but VAR rules it out

Daniel Munoz has a shot and it hits Ismaila Sarr then comes back to Munoz and he finishes. Palace’s players and fans go wild. But VAR checks it and Sarr was clearly offside when it hit him. The goal is ruled out. City will be relieved.

Kamada denies Silva

Bernardo Silva is in but Daichi Kamada makes a very important block from six yards out. City are building momentum now.

Eze’s shot blocked

Richards’ long throw is flicked on and Eze’s shot is blocked by Akanji. The rebound falls to Wharton and he pings towards goal but it smashes Guehi on the head. City have been pushing during the start of the second half but once again Palace have a big chance.

Half time: Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City

Everything that could go right went right for Palace in that first half. Eze scored a beauty with their only real chance, Henderson saved Marmoush’s penalty kick and plenty of decisions have gone in their favor. Palace are 45 minutes away from the first trophy in their history. Man City are knocking at the door and the first 15 minutes of the second half are going to be so crucial.

Henderson denies Doku, then De Bruyne fires over

Jeremy Doku cuts inside and curls a beauty towards the top corner but Henderson makes a fine save. Marc Guehi then heads clear with two City players challenging him and the ball drops to Kevin de Bruyne but he fires over wildly. City pushing hard before half time for an equalizer.

Bernardo Silva wins a penalty kick... but Henderson denies Marmoush!

Tyrick Mitchell slides in and brings down Bernardo Silva in the box. He did get a slight touch on the ball but that was after Silva went down. The Palace left wing-back knows he shouldn’t have slid in. Omar Marmoush takes the ball from Erling Haaland but the Egyptian hits a poor penalty kick which Henderson saves. Massive celebrations from the Palace faithful. Wow. Henderson probably shouldn’t be on the pitch, remember...

Dean Henderson breathes a huge sigh of relief

Palace’s goalkeeper gets this wrong as he comes off his line with Erling Haaland charging towards him and just swipes the ball away. Replays show that Henderson handled the ball just outside the box and VAR has a good look at it. They decide that Henderson handling the ball outside of the box wasn’t stopped an obvious goalscoring opportunity and the Palace goalkeeper survives what would have been a red card. That seems like a huge let-off for Palace.

Sarr denied by Ortega!

Palace are flying now and Munoz is found on the right and whips in another great cross. This time Ismaila Sarr arrives and his low effort is saved and then collected by Ortega.

Eze fires home! — Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City

Palace lead! A long ball up to Jean-Philippe Mateta sticks and he finds Daniel Munoz who whips in a brilliant cross for Eze to finish. After all of that early Man City pressure, Palace lead with their first attack of the game.

Akanji heads over

City have looked dangerous so far from corners and another is whipped in. This time Akanji gets his head to it but it loops over.

Dean Henderson denies Erling Haaland!

Really good save from the Crystal Palace goalkeeper. A cross is clipped to the back post and Erling Haaland is lurking. He manages to get something on it but Henderson saves across his goal. Bright start from City.

Team news is in!

The lineups have been announced and for Palace it’s exactly as you would expect with Adam Wharton fit to start in central midfield. But Pep Guardiola has gone all-out attack with his starting lineup, with Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva the two deeper central midfielders and the quartet of Savinho, Marmoush, Doku and Haaland in attack. Wow. That is brave from Guardiola and I don’t think Palace were expecting that.

Crystal Palace lineup

Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta

Manchester City lineup

Ortega; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; De Bruyne, Silva; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland

Crystal Palace team news, focus

The big injury concern for Palace is central midfielder Adam Wharton, but Glasner has said he’s available and the England international should be fit to start. That is huge for the way they play as Wharton is so good at playing the ball forward quickly and accurately for Mateta to hold up and the likes of Eze and Sarr to run in-behind. Palace’s 3-4-2-1 formation makes them so robust when they need to be defensively and they will look to frustrate City and then pick their moments on the counter. Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell have both had outstanding seasons at right and left wing-back respectively and will be so important in this final as they try to help Palace flourish on the break.

OUT: Cheick Doucoure (knee), Chadi Riad (knee)

Manchester City team news, focus

After Pep Guardiola went with an attack full of central players last weekend at Southampton and it backfired spectacularly, expect him to go back to traditional wide players for the cup final. Omar Marmoush drifting around underneath fit-again Erling Haaland is tempting, while Jeremy Doku seems sure to start on the left. Kevin de Bruyne will be desperate to win one last trophy before he departs, while City’s full back situation is intriguing. Josko Gvardiol is having a great season but he should probably start at center back with exciting youngster Nico O’Reilly at left back.

OUT: Oscar Bobb (thigh), John Stones (thigh), Rodri (torn ACL - MORE), Nathan Ake (ankle)

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City prediction

This is going to be fun. Contrasting styles of play and there will be no fear from Palace who have absolutely nothing to lose. Expect this to go to extra time and I’m going for a Palace win on penalty kicks to complete the upset. Crystal Palace 2-2 Manchester City (Palace win on penalty kicks).

FA Cup final preview

Crystal Palace and Manchester City meet in an intriguing FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday and this feels like a real 50-50 game.

Oliver Glasner’s Palace are clearly the underdogs, but should they be? They drew 2-2 at home against Man City earlier this season and last month they were 2-0 up early away at City, and should have gone 3-0 up, then imploded to lose 5-2. Palace are the ultimate ‘cup team’ and they have never won a major trophy in their 119-year history. With Eberechi Eze, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philipe Mateta so dangerous on the counter, plus a solid defensive unit and a very clear playing style to dominate on transitions, Palace match up well against City.

But this is Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side have surged back in recent weeks, putting themselves back in the top five as they look set to qualify for the Champions League. That wasn’t the case for most of this season. If City win this FA Cup final and finish in the top five, in a really bad season they would’ve won a trophy and reached the Champions League. That’s not bad given the injuries (to Rodri and Haaland in particular), massive dips in form and Guardiola ushering in a new era with plenty of young, exciting new players.

How to watch Crystal Palace vs Manchester City live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 11:30am ET Saturday (May 17)

Venue: Wembley Stadium — London

TV/Streaming: ESPN+