Time to wrap things up. It’s been a memorable day, but as dispassionate journalists it’s important we don’t get carried away: after all, 17 May 2025 is only the greatest day in Crystal Palace’s history. The warmest congratulations to them, and commiserations to City. Goodnight!
A Crystal Palace legend, from here to eternity
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Read Jamie Jackson’s player ratings
Daniel Muñoz Radar-like service created Eze strike and shepherding of Jeremy Doku kept Belgian quiet in the opening period. Troubled O’Reilly throughout. 8
Palace’s road to glory
Stockport (H) 1-0
EzeDoncaster (A) 2-0
Munoz, DevennyMillwall (H) 3-1
Tanganga og, Munoz, NketiahFulham (A) 3-0
Eze, Sarr, NketiahAston Villa (H) 3-0
Eze, Sarr 2Man City (N) 1-0
Eze
The wonderful Eberechi Eze scored four times during Palace’s FA Cup run – and all four were the opening goal of the game. That’s crucial for a counter-attacking side like Palace. And Eze being Eze, his goals in the quarter-final, semi-final and final were all belters. Right here, right now, he might be the most likeable footballer in England.
Crystal Palace were 19th at the end of November and many people thought Oliver Glasner would/should be sacked. Everyone at Palace held their nerve, knowing a slow start was inevitable given how many key players were away all summer, and now look. There’s a moral in that story somewhere.
Pep Guardiola’s reaction
We played really good. We did everything and created chances but unfortunately we couldn’t score. They scored with their first transition. It’s about goals – they scored one, so congratulations to Crystal Palace.
[Asked about the Dean Henderson decision, Guardiola widens his eyes and looks theatrically right and left] I’m not the referee!
[Gabriel Clarke presses it] I’m not the referee.
[Was it Omar Marmoush’s decision to take the penalty?] Yep. They decided.
It wasn’t just possession. We created chances and chances. They didn’t create much but they defended really well, really deep like under Roy Hodgson. It didn’t change much in those terms. Yeah, it is what it is.
Palace chairman Steve Parish speaks to ITV
This is for all the people who encourage you, who send you a message when it’s not going well. All the people that help you out, all the stuff you’ve written [points at Ian Wright] when it’s been going badly. You know the people who’ve got your back. These guys [points at the Palace fans] have always had my back. This is for all of them.
The brilliant Oliver Glasner speaks to ITV Sport
I can’t really believe it. If you play this game 10 times, we win it once and that happened today. We scored the first time we were in their half and then we defended with every single phase of the body and a great goalkeeper, a great mentality and togetherness. I’m really proud of the team and the staff – congratulations, all the credit goes to them.
[On his tactics] We analysed the games when we conceded a lot of goals [to City] and we saw that when they find the pocket we are vulnerable. That happened in the first half when they got the penalty. Kamada was a little bit impatient, stepped out and then they played quick passes into the gaps. This is what you want to avoid.
We gave them more possession without letting them into the pockets. We let them cross, we know we can defend those. It was all about being patient and finding the right moments [to break].
I said beforehand to the players, the biggest achievement would be to give our fans a weekend [of celebration] to forget all the problems at home, whatever it is, and now they are enjoying the moment. Maybe there will be a few headaches tomorrow! This is what they deserve because they always stick with us. This trophy is especially for all our fans from south London, congrats.
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David Hytner's report from Wembley
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, 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 Palace players all go up to collect their medals. They couldn’t stop smiling if they tried. Eventually the two captains, Marc Guehi and Joel Ward, grab one ear each of the FA Cup and lift it to the sky. With perfect timing, Glad All Over blares over the tannoy.
These are lovely scenes, imbued with a charm that is unique to first-time winners. And all that matters to them is winning a trophy; nobody has yet mentioned that they will be in the Europa League next season as well. In 2025, that’s extremely refreshing.
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Dean Henderson’s reaction
It’s incredible, honestly. So tired – the concentration, the lads are out on their feet. I’m so proud of everyone. We deserve this moment, the fans deserve it, the manager deserves it, everyone involved with the club.
It seemed like we were out there defending for about 24 hours but fair play to the boys, they stuck in, they got the blocks in, it was fantastic.
I didn’t know [the VAR check] was for me. I wasn’t sure what they were doing it for. Then I asked Chilly [Ben Chilwell] on the touchline was it for me and he said ‘Yeah’. Who cares, it doesn’t matter.
[Henderson looks confused as Gabriel Clarke presses it] I don’t know. I’m not bothered. I don’t know what you said, sorry.
[On the penalty save] I was confident. Years ago I saved a penalty down there for Shrewsbury and I fancied my chances in that corner. He smashed it hard, I went the right way and thankfully I got the save off.
[On the incident with Pep Guardiola] I went to shake his hand. I think he was disappointed with the [injury] time. I just said, ‘You got the 10 minutes you were wanted.’ No hard feelings.
The fans will remember this forever, like we will.
“Couldn’t be happier for Palace,” says Michael Hayen. “A shame Pep’s first action is to have a whine at Henderson.”
In his defence, one angle made it look like Henderson sledged him first, in which Guardiola’s reaction is at least understandable. But I don’t know for sure. If Guardiola did start it, that’s not great.
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“2025 is the new 1994,” says Simon McMahon. “I mean, you know I wouldn’t normally try to shoehorn a Dundee United reference into an FA Cup Final MBM, but today takes me back to when we won the Scottish Cup for the first time in our history in 1994, having lost in six previous finals. They don’t need me to tell them, but enjoy it, Palace fans.”
I think they’ll celebrate well.
The camera cuts to Pep Guardiola, who is busy scrutinising a geographical location precisely 1000 yards away from Wembley. I bet he can’t wait for next season to start. The last time City won nothing, in Guardiola’s first year at the club, they hit 100 points the following season.
Eberechi Eze's reaction
No words, man. No words. I don’t know what to say. I can only thank god because this is… nah, no words.
This is special. This is what dreams are made of, for me and this club. Who thought we could do it? We’ve made history today.
Tactics were good but I feel like our spirit and energy [got us through].
[On the Henderson handball] Yeah I was concerned [when it went to VAR] because you don’t want to give these guys a chance; they‘re too good.
[ITV’s Gabriel Clarke tells Eze there’s a feeling it was ‘one of the worst decisions in an FA Cup final’] Well… It is what it is. To be honest I don’t care about any of that, I’m just glad we won.
At this point Jean-Philippe Mateta arrives screaming, “HE’S THE MAN! HE’S THE MAN!”
We are glad all over. Please, let me join in now.
Pep Guardiola is furiously wagging his finger at Dean Henderson, although Henderson may have started it. Either way, his noggin has gone and his post-match interview will be interesting. But even if he launches into a breathless 24-minutes score-settler, it shouldn’t be the lead story tomorrow. This, with a respectful nod to the team of 1990-91, is about the greatest team in Crystal Palace’s history.
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CRYSTAL PALACE WIN THE 2025 FA CUP
They’ve done it at last. The despair of 1990 and 2016 is all part of the prologue now. Crystal Palace have won the FA Cup thanks to a brilliant goal from the wonderful Ebere Eze, and lots of very hard-faced gentlemen in the Palace end are haemmorhaging tears of joy.
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Full time: Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City
Crystal Palace have won their first major trophy at the tender age of 119!
90+9 min Palace have given up the pretence of attacking. They’re pretty much playing with a back nine. But they are so close now; 100 seconds away from glory.
90+6 min: Good save by Henderson! Palace are hanging on desperately. Doku’s low cross is half stopped at the near post and poked towards goal by the lively Echeverri. Henderson makes a smart save to his left and Palace force the ball away. For about two seconds.
Moments later City appeal for handball and a penalty when Echeverri’s snapshot hits a Palace defender. He has certainly made things happen.
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90+4 min A daft foul from Echeverri on Eze allows Palace a breather. I wonder how Jack Grealish feels about Echeverri, a teenage debutant, coming on ahead of him.
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90+4 min Even Munoz looks tired now. The mental and physical demands of repelling City in a cup final for 100 minutes – even a below-par City – are stratospheric.
90+2 min Palace’s defenders are starting to look a bit weary. A cross is headed away as far as De Bruyne on the edge of the D. He takes a touch and swishes the bouncing ball a couple of yards wide of the right-hand post. Henderson had it covered.
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90+1 min Henderson is booked for timewasting. If Palace win we’ll hear plenty about the card he didn’t receive in the first half.
89 min Crystal Palace are 11 minutes away from their first major trophy. Yep, there are going to be 10 added minutes. I guess there are a few reasons for that – the VAR check on Munoz’s goal, Guehi’s injury, Wharton being flattened, the substitutions.
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88 min: Man City substitution Ilkay Gundogan comes on for Bernardo Silva. I’ve got a feeling…
87 min: Palace substitution A weary Adam Wharton limps off to be replaced by Will Hughes.
86 min Lerma belts a crossfield pass out to Sarr on the right. He plays a short pass inside to the underlapping Munoz, who arrives on the scene at 1.5x speed and smashes a rising cross-shot that goes wide of the far post. His energy levels are spectacular.
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86 min That Echeverri shot was the first on target at either end in the second half.
85 min De Bruyne, who should have been booked in the first half, is booked this time for a tactical foul. This is officially the closest Palace have been to winning a major trophy – although in real terms it probably isn’t because there was less added time in 1990 and 2016.
83 min “Kieran McKintosh’s mention of the Glasner’s Europa League triumph reminded me that Daichi Kamada was on the field that day too, as a brilliant attacking midfielder,” says Kári Tulinius. “His transformation into one of the best defensive midfielders in England is remarkable. He’s marshalled the defence all day, and kept City from building a rhythm in front of goal. If Palace see this out, he’ll be a big reason why.”
Who was the right wing-back Frankfurt had that year, I think on loan from Dortmund? He was absolute dynamite. If only Palace had somebody simil-oh.
83 min Ruben Dias has been booked for something or other.
Big chance for Echeverri!
82 min City work the ball neatly on the edge of the area. Eventually De Bruyne arrives on the scene and slips a lovely first-time pass through to Echeverri, unmarked 10 yards out. He takes a touch and smashes a shot straight at Henderson. It might have taken a slight deflection, hard to be sure, but it was a terrific chance either way.
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81 min A very deep corner from the right is headed over the bar by Haaland. Palace look relatively comfortable in the circumstances – but the same was true when they were 3-2 up with seven minutes remaining in 1990.
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80 min “Paddy McCarthy has previous with City,” says Justin Kavanagh. “He was signed by them in 2000 from Stella Maris in Dublin but let go after never playing for the first team. And you know what they say about Irish amnesia: we forget everything but the grudge.”
78 min: Crystal Palace substitution Eddie Nketiah replaces Jean-Philippe Mateta, who looks utterly shattered. His part in the goal was majestic.
Echeverri comes on for City debut
77 min: Double substitution for City Phil Foden and Claudio Echeverri – signed from River Plate and in a matchday squad for the first time – replace Savinho and Omar Marmoush. Blimey.
76 min Bernardo Silva fouls Mateta and is booked. Replays show that O’Reilly was too keen to to get the ball on his left foot rather than taking the shot early with his right.
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Chance for O'Reilly
75 min De Bruyne plays a superb through pass to O’Reilly, who has been the hero of City’s FA Cup campaign, but he dithers for a crucial split-second and that allows Munoz to block his shot. Fine defending but O’Reilly needed to get the shot away earlier.
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74 min “What’s been impressive from Palace today is just how calm they’ve been,” says Niall Mullen. “The stats suggest a backs-to-the-wall affair but the penalty aside there’s not been a desperate tackle of note. That said, as a non-neutral neutral, I’d like them to show maybe 10% more intensity.”
72 min Another De Bruyne shot is blocked by the head of Wharton, knocking him off his feet. The referee stops play and De Bruyne has a brief slanging match with Richards.
There have been no shots on target at either end in the second half, which feels incongruous given the tension and incident: Richards’ header to deny Haaland, Akanji’s block from Eze, the disallowed goal and so on.
72 min Flippity flip this is tense. De Bruyne whacks an impatient shot from 20 yards that is blocked on the edge of the area, I think by Lacroix. Palace’s defensive shape is so good.
69 min City’s main attacking options on the bench include Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and, perhaps most importantly, Ilkay Gundogan. This feels like a Gundogan kind of game, same as the title decider against Aston Villa in 2022. He’s so good at finding space in a crowded penalty area.
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68 min A Palace corner is half cleared to Kamada, whose chest-volley from distance flashes over the bar. Lovely effort though.
67 min Crystal Palace are 23 minutes away from their first major trophy. But that’s an ocean of time compared to 1990 and 2016.
66 min O’Reilly is booked for a cynical foul on Munoz, who has arguably been the best player on the pitch. I’d love to nick his Fitbit and pass it off as my own.
64 min ITV are reporting that Palace’s Paddy McCarthy, who was just involved in a full and frank exchange of views with a member of the City backroom staff, also had a head-to-head Hegelian dialectic* with Pep Guardiola in the tunnel at half-time. And why not, it’s an FA Cup final FFS>
* ™ Scott Murray
63 min Losing Guehi is a big blow, and Palace fans will note with alarm that he was suspended when they lost 5-2 at the Etihad last month.
61 min: Crystal Palace substitution It’s kicking off between the two benches. My word. Meanwhile Marc Guehi has been replaced by Jefferson Lerma – that may well be concussion after the ball smacked him in the face.
NO GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City
That’s a fairly simple decision. Sarr knew nothing about it but he was clearly offside when the ball hit him and ricocheted towards goal. Another twist in this compelling game.
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VAR check for offside! I think this will be disallowed. Munoz’s first shot deflected off Haaland and onto Sarr, who was in an offside position.
Richards’ long throw from the right was only half cleared at the near post. Lacroix allowed the ball to run to Munoz, whose shot from 10 yards took a deflection and was very well saved by Orteta. But the ball ran loose and Munoz – still on the move, when isn’t he on the move – put it in from a tight angle.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-0 Man City (Munoz 58)
Daniel Munoz may just have gone into Crystal Palace folklore!
58 min Sarr’s dipping cross from the right is muffed by Akanji, who is relieved to see the ball run to Dias rather than Mateta.
57 min “I can tell from the names of Giovanni Cafagna’s cats, Ozzy and Lemmy, that he’s an easy listening fan,” says Simon McMahon. “Maybe he’ll like this?”
56 min Doku plays a clever pass into the area to find Bernardo Silva, who runs off Wharton and slides a low cross-shot that is brilliantly blocked by the sliding Kamada. It’s all City just now.
54 min Guehi is back on and blink-free. Okay, not blink free, we all need to blink, but he’s no longer doing it furiously.
53 min There’s a break in play while Guehi receives treatment. He was smacked in the face and is blinking furiously, prompting the ITV commentator Sam Matterface to wonder whether he wears contact lenses.
I don’t like to bring up the name of Jim Leighton during an FA Cup final involving Crystal Palace but this story needs to be shared at every opportunity.
52 min “I’m not a fan of either team and would love to see Crystal Palace win their first major trophy, but the non-red decision is baffling,” says Ted Graves. “If Henderson doesn’t swat the ball outside his box then Haaland is into the box and either lobs him or charges the goal. 'Direction of play? Very odd decision based on the rules, the only explanation I can find is VAR didn’t want to send a player off with 3/4 of the game to go.”
That’s definitely the consensus. I’m still not sure whether it was clear and obvious, purely because of the doubt over the weight of Haaland’s touch and the potential of the covering defender to block any shot. But I’m going to shut up about it before I start receiving abusive emails.
Great block by Akanji
50 min A long throw from the right bounces across to Eze, who twists his body to smack a shot that is crucially blocked by Akanji. That was going right in the bottom corner, and another demonstration of Eze’s superb technique.
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50 min “Fact that often flies under the radar: Glasner has already won the Europa League,” says Kiearn McKintosh. “So if Palace were to hold on, and go to that land, you wouldn’t bet against them giving it a good go...
“Big if though.”
Yeah, long way to go – they were seven minutes away in 1990 and nine in 2016 – but I agree with you. Their style feels suited to Europe. And just imagine the atmosphere for the home games.
49 min A cross from the right finds its way to Doku on the far side, 15 yards out. He tries to use Lacroix as a screen but curls over the bar.
48 min: Brilliant defending Richards strains every sinew to take a cross off the head of Haaland in the six-yard box. After Guehi’s in the first half, we just need a goal-saving header from Lacroix to complete the hat-trick.
46 min And they’re off.
One thing we can all agree on: next goal’s a big goal!
“It’s amusing how seamlessly the BBC pundits transitioned from the ‘Palace are being punished’ rhetoric before the goal straight into the ‘Palace can do this all day long’ talk after it,” writes Hasan. “As a Forest fan I’ve been watching counterattacking football all season long, and it was clear from the outset that Glasner’s boys were pretty comfortable soaking up pressure while waiting for chances to break, even taking into account City’s penalty chance. But that’s the problem with punditry nowadays: stick two geezers into an enclosed space with the remit of filling the silence with verbiage, and it isn’t long before they stop caring whether they make any sense or not.”
Two geezers? It’s just me, Hasan. (More seriously, because sometimes the laughter has to stop, I know what you mean but I do think you have to recognise the moodswings within games as well.)
The consensus of the ITV panel – Wright, Keane, Lescott - is that Dean Henderson should have been sent off. Even Ian Wright called the decision “pathetic”. I’m not sure it’s quite so straightforward. The reason it’s hard to be sure is that Haaland touches the ball and then, almost simultaneously, Henderson slaps it into a different postcode. So we don’t know for sure how light Haaland’s touch was, and that’s important because there was a defender getting back to cover.
On balance I think Haaland would have scored, but on balance isn’t the same as clear and obvious so I can at least understand why they didn’t send Henderson off. That said, if I was a City fan I’d be on Bluesky right now turning the air even bluer.
The two questions are should Dean Henderson still be on (no, as his handball did deny a goalscoring chance) and why did Erling Haaland not take the penalty? Answer: he has missed three for Man City this season, so...
Overall the Sky Blues are rattled and yet again miss the serene Cary Grant cool of Rodri. This is not over, though, and for my money, Pep Guardiola should consider the differing dimension Jack Grealish, from the bench, would offer.
The other issue for the Catalan is: can his wobbly rearguard stop Crystal Palace’s lightning counter from scoring again, as it did for Eberechi Eze’s scintillating opener...
Ambassador, with all these FA Cup finals you’re really spoiling us
When I was growing up there was a holy trinity of football writers: David Lacey, Hugh McIlvanney and Brian Glanville. They’ve all left us now. Kevin Mitchell pays tribute to Brian Glanville, who has died aged 93.
A fascinating, controversial and often exhilarating first half ends with Palace ahead through Ebere Eze, who joyously added to his portfolio of fabulous goals. Dean Henderson – who might have been sent off for handling outside the area – saved a penalty from Omar Marmoush that might have been wrongly awarded; he also denied Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku with excellent saves.
Palace rationed their counter-attacks – they had only 19 per cent possession – but when they got anything resembling a decent ball up to Jean-Philippe Mateta he invariably made something happen. Daniel Munoz, who made Eze’s goal, was a bullet train on the right and almost made a second for Ismaila Sarr.
Half time: Crystal Palace 1-0 Man City
Pick the bones out of that.
45+1 min Marmoush is the sixth man to miss a penalty* in an FA Cup final.
1910 Charlie Wallace (Aston Villa)
1988 John Aldridge (Liverpool)
1991 Gary Lineker (Tottenham)
2010 Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth) and Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
2025 Omar Marmoush (Man City)
* Or have one saved, this isn’t the time for pedantry.
45 min An irritated De Bruyne flattens Eze and is very, very lucky not to receive a yellow card. That’s poor refereeing.
Brilliant save by Henderson!
43 min Dean Henderson is playing a blinder. Doku barrels infield, past Munoz, and curls a powerful shot towards the far corner with his right foot. Henderson leaps top his left to make a fine one-handed save – but he can only push the ball up in the air in front of goal. Guehi does brilliantly to get between two City players and head the ball to safety. That might have been even better than Henderson’s save.
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42 min “Not only was the penalty saved,” says Hugh Molloy, “but now Palace are in possession of a Borderline Penalty Card awarded under the unofficial Evening Up rules of the game.”
Have you been chatting to Mark Clattenburg?
41 min More quite brilliant hold-up play from Mateta almost leads to another Palace incision, but Sarr’s pass through to the rampaging Munoz is blocked.
Mateta has been a spectator for 39 minutes of the first half and an absolute star for the other two.
38 min “It’s amazing the aura City have built over the last decade or so, and how it colours our vision,” says Matt Dony. “Stepping back, there’s only six league places and 16 points between these two teams. City are closer points-wise to Palace than they are to Liverpool. There isn’t actually that much between them, really. And yet, we naturally fall back into seeing it in terms of ‘massive underdog’ and ‘almost-certain-winners’. That Palace goal feels like a shock, but it shouldn’t be. Maybe their likability plays into it; we’re not always used to ‘likable’ teams being good. But they are, indeed, good. If they win, they may well get patronised to within an inch of their lives, which will be a real shame. They’re here on merit, and they could win on merit.”
37 min This is an FA Cup final.
Henderson saves the penalty!
36 min Scenes galore at Wembley! Marmoush smashes the penalty low to the left and Henderson makes a brilliant one-handed save. Haaland follows up and Henderson dives gleefully on the ball as it bounces across the six-yard box.
The height of the penalty was in Henderson’s favour but it was still a marvellous save at full stretch. Marmoush’s kick was close to the corner and struck with venom.
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35 min Erling Haaland has missed a few penalties this season, so it’ll be Omar Marmoush to take it.
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The penalty stands! The VAR team have told Stuart Attwell that Mitchell didn’t touch the ball. I think that’s wrong; I’m sure that’s wrong. You can argue the touch was insufficient to invalidate the foul but that wasn’t what the VAR said.
Blimey, it’s all happening.
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VAR check Hang on, Mitchell gets a very slight touch on the ball before he fouls Bernardo Silva. Is that enough?
Penalty to City!
33 min Bernardo Silva is fouled near the byline by Tyrick Mitchell, a needless and costly challenge because the ball was going out of play. Stuart Attwell takes a beat and then gives the penalty. Really clever play from Bernardo Silva.
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32 min “One of the flaws of VAR: because it wasn’t judged to be a penalty or a red card it wasn’t anything, when justice would at least have been a yellow card and a free kick on the edge of the area,” says Richard Hirst.
I’d argue that’s a strength. Thin end of the wedge and all that. The only change I’d make is to allow VAR to be used if a second yellow card is shown erroneously.
30 min The game has slowed down a bit since that incident. Both teams look like they’re settling in for the long haul.
28 min “That was brilliant old school centre forward play from Mateta for the goal,” says Niall Mullen. “If someone scores following a near-post run I might die of nostalgia.”
And Sarr almost did.
27 min Henderson came to the edge of his area, panicked when he realised Haaland was going to get to the ball and instinctively slapped it away from danger. The key point is where Haaland’s touch would have taken the ball, without any intervention from Henderson, and whether there would have been a clear goalscoring opportunity.
I’d like to see it again but it looks like a really difficult decision for the VAR, particularly given our old friends Clear and Obvious. That said, if I was a City fan I’d be emitting steam at all angles.
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No red card for Henderson
25 min We’re going to hear more about this if City don’t win. The VAR has apparently decided that, though Henderson handled the ball outside the area, the direction of play meant it wasn’t a clear goalscoring opportunity for Haaland. I can see both sides. I doubt City fans can, though, and I don’t blame them.
VAR check for a possible red card
24 min Gvardiol drives a long ball over the top towards Haaland. Henderson comes to the edge of the area, waits for the ball to bounce into the area and is robbed by Haaland.
The danger then passes but Henderson is in trouble here – he seemed to touch the ball outside the area, almost at the same time as Haaland, and it’s being checked by VAR. I think he might be off.
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23 min The frequency of Palace’s counter-attacks is becoming a problem for City. This is fascinating stuff – for the first 15 minutes Palace barely crossed the halfway line.
22 min “Am living in a blissful picture right now, sunk in my personal sofa chair, sipping G&T, the FA Cup on telly, kissed by glorious warm countryside sunshine coming through the windows, Lemmy and Ozzy (the cats) scanning the fields hoping for some hunting action, and my wife promised to cook me sweet & sour pork tonight,” writes Giovanni Cafagna. “Crystal Palace winning would make the day perfect. I lived over a quarter century in South London (QPR supporter though, that’s another story) and have been to a few grounds south of the river, but CP’s atmosphere was always the best. Happy memories.”
Good save by Ortega!
20 min Oh-hoo, we’ve got a game on now. Eze sprays a pass out to Munoz, who drives another sharp cross towards the near post. The ball is almost behind Sarr, who does superbly to divert it past Gvardiol and towards goal. Ortega sees it late and pushes it out in front of goal; thankfully for City there are no Palace players there.
19 min Marmoush’s shot on the turn is blocked at source by Richards. That goal gets better every time you see it – not just the finish but the work of Kamada, Munoz and particularly Mateta.
Palace went long to beat the press and then played through the City defence. Mateta held the ball up expertly, combined neatly with Kamada to create some space and then found the overlapping Munoz on the right. He galloped forward and arrowed a cross towards Eze, who got in front of Akanji near the penalty spot and sidefooted an excellent volley past Ortega. That was such a hard volley to control on the run, or rather it would have been for most professional footballers. Ebere Eze is not most professional footballers.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-0 Man City (Eze 16)
Spine-tingling stuff at Wembley! Ebere Eze has put Palace ahead with yet another brilliant goal!
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16 min “Perhaps the example of Steve Stone could serve as a word of warning for the Palace players today,” says Alex Netherton. “In 2000 his Aston Villa side narrowly lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup final, and never really got another bite at glory.”
Any chance we could get you in to give a motivational talk to the Guardian sports desk?
14 min The resulting corner is headed onto the roof of the net by Akanji, who did really well because he was moving away from goal when he made contact.
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13 min Bernardo Silva’s terrific cross just evades Savinho at the far post and is headed behind by Mitchell. It feels like a goal is coming.
12 min Savinho’s deep, inswinging corner from the right is headed towards goal by Gvardiol and pushed away by Henderson. That was a fairly comfortable save – it was a standing jump from Gvardiol which made it harder to generate power.
Even so, Palace are under relentless pressure at the moment.
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11 min Another potential Palace break is thwarted by a zesty sliding tackle form De Bruyne. No surprise that he looks bang up for this.
9 min Palace counter-attack with a hint of menace for the first time. Mateta is one v one with Akanji but his touch is imperfect and Akanji knocks the ball back to Ortega.
8 min “Watching on ESPN here in the US, I can barely hear the crowd,” says Joe Pearson. “Are you getting that?”
Quite the contrary – the Palace fans are making an almighty noise.
Fine save by Henderson!
6 min City’s first chance. De Bruyne, in the inside-right channel, curls a trademark first-time cross towards Haaland at the far post. He flies through the air like an arthritic ninja to force a volley towards goal from six yards, and Henderson reacts very well to push it away to his left. It was a brilliant effort from Haaland because the ball reached him at a really awkward height.
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5 min The first five minutes have been a training session: attack and defence, invasion and repulsion. I can’t remember the last time Palace crossed the halfway line. But equally they are keeping the attack at arm’s length, so any City domination has been of the sterile variety.
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3 min Lots of early possession for City, all in front of the Palace defence. O’Reilly is playing as a third central midfield when City have the ball.
Kick off
1 min Ebere Eze has the first touch of the 2025 FA Cup final. Palace are kicking from left to right as we watch.
“Hi Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Just back from a dramatic afternoon at Tannadice in time for the cup final, and after Broughty United AFC’s North of Tay cup final win last night, it’s been quite the weekend so far.
“After four straight defeats, Dundee United secured European football with a come from behind win against Aberdeen on the last day to leapfrog the Dons into fourth place. A glorious end to our first season back in the Scottish Premiership after promotion last year.
“It’s why I watch football, and also why I hope Palace win today. Blair Geddes, a massive United fan and Broughty’s own version of Dave Narey, missed today’s game because he is en route to Manchester to see Springsteen. United certainly ‘bossed’ Aberdeen today, just like Broughty did to Stobswell last night. What a day/weekend! Come on the Uniteds! And Palace. Glory Days indeed.”
In an unrelated question, what time did the bar open at Tannadice the morn?
It’s nearly time for action on a gorgeous May afternoon in north London. Talking of which…
“Is it time,” begins John Tumbridge, “for my annual email pointing out that, despite the promises before the stadium was built, that pitch is not perfectly lit by the sun at 3pm on in early May?”
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The players are about to emerge for the pre-match formalities. These are the two teams.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1) Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sara, Eze; Mateta.
Substitutes: Turner, Ward, Lerma, Nketiah, Clyne, Hughes, Esse, Chilwell, Devenny.
Manchester City (possible 4-2-3-1) Ortega; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland.
Substitutes: Ederson, Grealish, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Vitor Reis, Foden, Khusanov, Echeverri, Matheus Luiz.
Referee Stuart Attwell.
In 2023-24 this Manchester football correspondent gave Phil Foden 10 out of 10 ‘for the season of his life’ when being Manchester City’s key player in their four-peat title triumph.
Today he is a sub only.
Jonathan Liew meets… Will Hughes
This is Palace’s third FA Cup final, following defeats against Manchester United in 1990 and 2016. Ed Aarons spoke to some of the players involved.
The frustrating thing is that we were seven minutes away from lifting the Cup after Ian Wright scored in extra time. If it had been a film, we would have won the game and it would have been one of the greatest achievements in sport. We’d been beaten 9-0 by the team that we had then beaten in the semi-final … That’s the sad thing – history is made by certain moments and Mark Hughes came up with that moment.
There have been six first-time FA Cup winners in the last 50 years. Palace are hoping to make it seven.
Southampton 1976
Ipswich 1978
Coventry 1987
Wimbledon 1988
Wigan 2013
Leicester 2021
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Roy Keane on Adam Wharton (via ITV)
He always gives himself time. He always looks like he knows what he’s doing, he’s got a picture in his mind when he receives the ball. Very classy, he played really well in the semi-final. He’s always looking forward and he passes between the lines. I like everything about him.
Imagine being a 21-year-old holding midfielder and hearing that.
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Oliver Glasner’s pre-match thoughts
It’s a special moment for all of us and we’re really looking forward to the game.
We expect City to have more of the ball, as they do against most teams, especially as they have picked a very attacking line-up. It’s a little bit similar to how Villa played, with lots of attacking players, but that gives you space for transitions. That’s what we need to wait for. We have to be very efficient when we get chances.
[On Adam Wharton] Adam reads the game so well and finds quick solutions in possession. We need to have the ball at times, otherwise the pressure increases and increases. Adam can bring the game forward but he’s also very good at reading and closing the opposition’s passing lanes. City always want to play in the pocket.
Everybody knows what we are playing for [the club’s first major trophy] so I didn’t need to raise it. Now isn’t the time to overthink or to overmotivated. We need to stick to the plan and stick to our strengths. We have confidence in our team and the way we are playing. This is what we want to show.
“It’s too bad Crystal Palace loaned him to Celtic because ‘It’s only Jeffrey Schlupp’ has got a great ring to it,” says Peter Oh, “and he’s a versatile multi-position player like Ray Parlour was.”
Never mind that: who’s the Tim Lovejoy among City’s celebrity fanbase? Oh yeah. Hi Noel!
It’s our third FA Cup final in a row, so that is already quite a big achievement. It’s a competition that means a lot to us. We’ve been defined by the Premier Leagues but I feel we’ve been defined by all of it: all the things we’ve got our hands on, for the way we played.
Pep’s pre-match thoughts
It’s better to be here than at home, that’s for sure. Listen, I know everything is a disaster [the way City’s season has been perceived] but we are here, so let’s enjoy it.
[Mateo Kovacic] didn’t feel perfect. We have a game on Tuesday and we don’t want to take a risk.
[Was it an easy decision to recall Haaland given your form without him?] With Erling Haaland we won the Treble. I don’t know if he’ll be able to play all the game.
[On Palace] They are strong at set-pieces and in transition, especially left to right. They have good quality, they can play; they are a really good team. In the second part of the season Oliver has done an incredible job.
Crystal Palace team news
No surprises in the Palace team: it’s the same XI that hammered Aston Villa in the semi-finals.
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1) Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Sara, Eze; Mateta.
Substitutes: Turner, Ward, Lerma, Nketiah, Clyne, Hughes, Esse, Chilwell, Devenny.
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Man City team news
Pep Guardiola has picked an extremely attacking team, with no holding midfielder. Given Palace’s counter-attacking threat, that’s a fascinating decision – especially after what happened in the 2021 Champions League final.
Ah, it turns out Mateo Kovacic is injured, although City could still have picked Nico Gonzalez in that position.
Manchester City (possible 4-2-3-1) Ortega; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland.
Substitutes: Ederson, Grealish, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Vitor Reis, Foden, Khusanov, Echeverri, Matheus Luiz.
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Ed Aarons on the making of Crystal Palace’s impressive head coach
Glasner was preparing to face the Danish club Brøndby in a Europa League qualifier when he had a brain haemorrhage after a heading drill in training. He was taken to hospital in Copenhagen after pleading with a teammate with whom he was sharing a room to raise the alarm and needed an emergency operation to save his life. “It’s the last thing I can remember,” he said in an interview last month of asking his teammate to call a doctor. Glasner has spoken regularly about how that experience has shaped his fearless approach to management.
Since you asked, 12/15
From the archive
Wonder who it will be today. Ebere Eze? Nico O’Reilly?
Tim Lovejoy, commentating on the Sky Sports Fanzone service, feared for his beloved Blues. “Oh no!” he wailed. “He’s through.” But wait – more insight was on the way. Lovejoy had identified the Arsenal player in question and it was a false alarm. Panic over, calm down, Arsenal won’t be scoring here, time for some bantz. “Oh, it’s only Ray Parlour,” Lovejoy said dismissively, failing to remember that the Romford Pele had scorched a wondrous drive past Valencia’s Santiago Cañizares during a Champions League quarter-final a year earlier and also that he was good at football, so good that he was playing in central midfield in an FA Cup final for the league champions, four years after playing as a right winger in an FA Cup final for the league champions.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of the FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City. Since the FA Cup started to lose its lustre in the late 1990s, many finals have failed to get the juices flowing – and that’s just before the game. It is my abundant pleasure to tell you that today’s match is very different, a fascinating prospect and a delicious study in contrasts.
Palace are one of the deadliest counter-attacking teams around; City, even in such a disappointing season, remains England’s possession kings. Palace are dreaming of the first major trophy in their history; City are desperate to win their first major trophy this season. It’s a perfectly pitched contest – not a heavyweight clash but not David v Goliath either. Palace have a much greater chance than that little shepherd boy with the sling, and look what he managed.
Odd though it sounds, City’s 5-2 win over Palace last month provided a case for both teams to win today. Palace shredded City on the break in the first half hour and would have gone 3-0 up but for a marginal offside. City eventually responded like cornered tigers and won 5-2.
Kick off 4.30pm.
