It was a day that will live forever in the hearts of everyone connected to Crystal Palace; history made, legends created. The south London club were on a mission to avenge previous Wembley pain – the FA Cup final defeats against Manchester United from 1990 and 2016 – and to win a first major trophy. They put their supporters through the wringer because it is written that they must suffer. But when the final whistle blew, the joy was boundless. Who knows when it will feel real?
The goalscorer was Eberechi Eze, Palace’s sorcerer-in-chief, and it came in the 16th minute from an assist by Daniel Muñoz, who was irrepressible up and down the right. But the real hero was surely Dean Henderson, who saved a penalty just after the half-hour from Omar Marmoush, and it was hardly the goalkeeper’s only vital intervention.
Should Henderson have been on the field to distinguish himself? The former Manchester United player had handled outside his area to thwart Erling Haaland and if there was considerable doubt over his continued involvement, he was given the benefit of it.
Palace defended with great discipline, one of the many hallmarks of Oliver Glasner’s stunning year or so at the helm, and in the final analysis,Manchester Citydid not do enough in creative terms. Their patterns looked formulaic and when opportunity knocked, especially towards the end, they either seized up or found Henderson in the way.
There was agony for the Palace supporters when the board when up to show 10 additional minutes. They had seen Nico O’Reilly hesitate for City at the crucial moment towards the end of regulation time after a fine Kevin De Bruyne pass and Henderson saved smartly from the City substitute Claudio Echeverri, who had come on for his debut.
In the extra minutes, De Bruyne shot wide with the outside of his boot and Henderson again denied Echeverri, setting the scene for when it was finally over, virtually every player in red and blue slumping to the turf, utterly overcome.
From a City perspective, it set the seal on a deeply underwhelming season, the first time since 2016-17 – Pep Guardiola’s first in charge – that they had finished without silverware. The day belonged elsewhere.
Glasner had said beforehand that victory would mean more for Palace and it was hard to disagree. They were the outsiders and yet not totally, their fans having travelled in hope. With this manager and these players, they had plenty of it.
Before Eze’s goal, Palace had sunk back into a 5-4-1 shape out of possession. And they were almost exclusively out of possession. De Bruyne looked in the mood. There were a couple of nervous moments for Palace. Haaland worked Henderson. Josko Gvardiol went close with a free header.
But when Palace broke upfield for the first time, they did so into acres of space and how they made the punch count. Jean-Philippe Mateta’s hold-up work was sound and Muñoz ran with characteristic willingness up the right. Eze timed his move, getting in front of Manuel Akanji and the volley from Muñoz’s cross was executed with exemplary technique.
There would be another Palace surge up the right through Muñoz, another cross and a flick by Ismaïla Sarr that forced Stefan Ortega into a smart save before the touchpaper was well and truly lit.
City thought that Henderson had to be sent off for denying Haaland a clear goalscoring opportunity and it was easy to see their point of view. The centre-forward ran for the ball towards the edge of the Palace box and saw Henderson come out and paw it away from him, looking suspiciously outside his area as he did so. The freeze-frame pictures would confirm that Henderson did indeed handle outside the area. Without the intervention, it was difficult to argue that something promising for Haaland would not have happened.
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City’s grievances deepened when Henderson made the penalty save shortly afterwards. Bernardo Silva essentially bought the decision; he was already going down when Tyrick Mitchell slid in, anticipating the contact towards the byline. It was an unwise move from Mitchell, inviting the worst.
Henderson, though, plunged the right way to repel Marmoush’s kick, then keep out Haaland’s rebound. There were further heroics before the interval, when Henderson pushed Jérémy Doku’s curling shot up and out. On the second phase of the move, De Bruyne lashed high when well-placed: a big miss.
The contrasts between the clubs ran deep and they went beyond the respective trophy hauls and Wembley pedigree. It was City’s obsession with possession against Palace’s love of the counter and Guardiola’s midfield setup certainly shaped things.
With Mateo Kovacic unfit, he went for the control of De Bruyne and Silva in front of the back four. So, no recognised holding midfielder. O’Reilly stepped up and inside from left-back. With Savinho and Doku on the flanks and Marmoush up alongside Haaland, it was an all-or-nothing selection.
City pushed at the start of the second half, Palace resisting, never more so than when Doku played in Silva and he was denied by a body-on-the-line block by Daichi Kamada. Doku had also bent a shot just off target.
But City caught a break when Muñoz had a goal disallowed after a video assistant referee intervention. Guardiola watched the defending on a long Chris Richards throw through his fingers, the ball breaking for Muñoz, who lashed at goal and followed up after Ortega’s parry to squeeze it home from a tight angle. His original shot had hit Sarr, who was in an offside position in front of Ortega.
The tension pounded and it spilled over into an argument between the benches after the Palace captain, Marc Guéhi, was forced off on the hour. It was also reported by ITV that the Palace physio, Paddy McCarthy, clashed with Guardiola in the tunnel at half-time. The Palace fans sang their songs as they counted down the minutes, although it was impossible for them to suppress the anxiety. It only added to the impossible sweetness of the victory.