Crystal Palace beats Manchester City and wins the FA Cup for the first time
Goalkeeper Henderson had a great performance in this Saturday’s final, played at Wembley Stadium
Crystal Palace made history this Saturday, 17th, by defeating Manchester City 1-0 and winning the FA Cup for the first time. The victory came thanks to a gigantic performance by Henderson, who saved a penalty from Marmoush and made other crucial saves, leaving the field as the great hero of the final.
Palace’s best results in the competition were two runners-up finishes, achieved in the 1989/90 and 2015/16 seasons – both of which resulted in defeats to Manchester United . This time, they wrote a new and unforgettable chapter at Wembley.
In addition, it has given City the worst season of the Pep Guardiola era. The team has not won any titles in 2024/25 and is currently in sixth place in the English Premier League – a position that would currently leave them out of the next edition of the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola surprised everyone with his line-up by putting together an attack with Savinho, Doku, Haaland and Marmoush. In goal, Ortega replaced the Brazilian Ederson. On the pitch, however, the initiative did not work.
After just 16 minutes, Crystal Palace took advantage of City’s initial lack of interest and opened the scoring with a textbook counter-attack. Jean-Philippe Mateta made a quick run through the middle and found Muñoz on the right. The full-back burst into the box and crossed low. Coming from behind, Eberechi Eze unleashed a rocket of a shot that left Ortega with no chance, sending the Wembley crowd wild.
City tried to react quickly and had a great opportunity to equalise in the 35th minute. After a handball inside the area, the referee awarded a penalty to Pep Guardiola’s team. Marmoush went to take the penalty but was stopped by a spectacular save from Henderson, who fell firmly to the right corner and saved Palace.
Even with the penalty missed, City continued to press. The best chance came in the 42nd minute, when Doku made a great individual move down the left, dribbling into the area and shooting into the corner. Henderson appeared again with a miracle, palming the ball away. On the rebound, De Bruyne had an open goal, but he made a poor connection and sent the ball over, wasting another clear chance.
After the break, City were expected to put on even more pressure, but it was Crystal Palace who almost secured the win. In a move that started with a throw-in by Rúben Dias, the ball was thrown straight into the box. Muñoz took a shot, and Ortega made a partial save. On the rebound, Muñoz himself finished for the goal and ran to celebrate, but the move was later disallowed after a VAR review, which identified Sarr as offside, as he deflected the ball with his first shot.
With this decision, City gained a lifeline and began to push up their lines, while Palace retreated, positioning all players behind the midfield line and betting on a counterattack to kill the game. Savinho began to be used a lot on the right, but the opposing defense remained solid.
Palace held on as best they could in the end, withstanding City’s pressure. When the referee signaled 10 minutes of added time, the team retreated even further, relying on a defensive system to protect their advantage. Even so, they almost extended the lead with Muñoz, who had a good chance to score the second. At the final whistle, the fans at Wembley erupted in celebration, celebrating an unprecedented and historic title for the club.
