Courtesy: FA Cup/X
On Saturday, May 17, Crystal Palace made history by winning their first major trophy in 120 years, defeating Manchester City in the FA Cup final by 1-0 at the Wembley Stadium in London. Eberechi Eze scored the all-important first goal for Crystal Palace in the 16th minute, which ended up being the difference maker between the two sides, and it also secured a trophy at long last for the London-based club.
It was a counterattack from Crystal Palace in the first half, which led to a Daniel Munoz’s cross arriving inch-perfect in the path of Eberechi Eze, who sweeped it past Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, to give his team a 1-0 lead. Just a few minutes later, Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, the Crystal Palace wasn’t given a red card for handling the ball outside his area when Erling Haaland pressured him, with the video assistant referee deciding that the Manchester City striker was moving away from goal.
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In the 36th minute, Dean Henderson saved a crucial penalty from Omar Marmoush after Tyrick Mitchell had fouled Bernardo Silva inside the box, to protect the slender lead of Crystal Palace. Manchester City kept the pressure on the opposition right throughout the match, dominating the possession stats, but they weren’t able to find the much-needed breakthrough on the night in front of an inspired Crystal Palace backline.
Manchester City go trophyless for the first-time since 2016-17 season
Ultimately, Crystal Palace were able to get their hands on the silverware after a wait of 120 years, with the current bunch of players and manager Oliver Glasner cementing their place in history. On the other side, Manchester City have gone without winning a major trophy this season under manager Pep Guardiola for the first time since the 2016-17 season, which is also a massive development considering that he had extended his contract with them until 2027.
At the same time, the FA Cup victory for Crystal Palace means that they will play the UEFA Europa League next season, while Manchester City need to win their final two matches of the ongoing Premier League season, to give themselves the best chance to secure UEFA Champions League football.
