Crystal Palace win FA Cup 2024/25

Eberechi Eze ‘s early goal stunned Man City. At the end of the first half, goalkeeper Dean Henderson also saved Omar Marmoush ‘s penalty, keeping Palace in the lead.

Eze was rejected by Arsenal, Fulham and Millwall as a kid but is now a Palace hero. Henderson also shined with number of saves. Man City complained that Henderson should have been sent off for using his hand outside the box, but the referee and VAR did not send him off. Palace won their first major trophy in 120 years and qualified for next season’s Europa League.

Palace have previously lost the FA Cup finals in 1990 and 2016. This time they deserved to win because Man City continued their decline in their worst season under manager Pep Guardiola : no chance of winning any trophies after four consecutive Premier League titles.

City are currently sixth, with two games remaining against Bournemouth (May 20) and Fulham (May 25) to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Guardiola had previously questioned his players’ motivation, and the defeat to Palace showed a tactical problem: he used an ultra-attacking formation, completely abandoning defensive midfielders.

Main events

• Minute 16 : Palace counter-attacked quickly. Jean-Philippe Mateta kept the ball, passed it to Daniel Muñoz who ran down the right wing and crossed it in. Eze volleyed powerfully past goalkeeper Stefan Ortega – 1-0.

• Minute 25 : Henderson rushed out to block Erling Haaland, the ball touched his hand outside the penalty area. VAR determined that “he did not block a clear scoring opportunity”, so he escaped a red card.

• Minute 35 : City is awarded a penalty because Tyrick Mitchell fouled Bernardo Silva. Haaland passes the ball to Marmoush. Henderson guesses the right direction and saves the penalty.

• Late in the game: Henderson continued to deny Jeremy Doku and Claudio Echeverri, helping Palace keep the score at 1‑0 until the end of the match.

Crystal Palace celebrated their first FA Cup title, while Man City ended a sad season with only the last two matches remaining to aim for a top 4 finish.