Crystal Palace has won its first major trophy after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
For Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, the final loss represents a first trophyless season since the 2016-17 campaign.
Oliver Glasner’s side took the lead in the first half at Wembley Stadium in London when Eberechi Eze finished off a customary Crystal Palace counterattack.
Manchester City piled on the pressure for the remainder of the game and will regret passing on missed opportunities throughout – including a missed penalty from Omar Marmoush.
Smash-and-grab
Crystal Palace took the lead in the 16th minute with a free-flowing goal its fans have grown accustomed to seeing during Glasner’s time in charge of the club.
The South London team went from back-to-front in lightning speed with a trademark counterattack.
Jean-Philippe Mateta held the ball up on the halfway line before finding full-back Daniel Muñoz galloping down Palace’s right-hand side with one of his customary bursts.
Muñoz looked up before delivering a low cross into the Manchester City box which found the onrushing Eze perfectly. The 26-year-old then swept the ball into the far corner of the net and sent the Crystal Palace fans into a state of delirium.
Manchester City dominated before the goal and continued to pile on the pressure at 1-0 down. Guardiola’s team was soon rewarded for its constant pressure when Bernardo Silva was brought down by Tyrick Mitchell in the Crystal Palace penalty area.
Marmoush stepped up to take the spot kick for Manchester City but saw his penalty brilliantly saved by Dean Henderson in the Palace goal.
Crystal Palace went in at the halftime break with a 1-0 lead, knowing it was 45 minutes from making history.
The second half saw more of the same with Crystal Palace defending doggedly to prevent a Manchester City equalizer.
Henderson continued to prove his worth in the Palace net, thwarting Manchester City efforts on countless occasions.
As time ran out, Manchester City ran out of ideas and Crystal Palace held on to seal a historic win for the club.
“It’s special,” matchwinner Eze told BBC Sport after the game. “I don’t even know what to say.”
History-makers
Crystal Palace came into the game as heavy underdogs.
The club had never won a major trophy in its long history and was facing a side which has dominated English football in recent years.
Manchester City has won the Premier League six times since the 2017-18 season, alongside a host of other major honors.
But this Crystal Palace team did not let the history books distract them from the task at hand.
“I think that’s what’s amazing is that we can do something nobody in Crystal Palace history has done,” Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards told CNN Sports’ Darren Lewis prior to the final.
And Crystal Palace did just that, making history thanks to Eze’s goal. The American defender also told Lewis of Eze’s importance to the team.
“He does things out here that nobody would expect – I don’t even have the creativity in my brain to think of some of the stuff that he does,” Richards said of his talismanic teammate.
“He’s one of those guys who leads by example. He doesn’t have too much to say but when he does say it you understand that it’s probably coming from a good place.”
Not only does this win represent a first major honor for Crystal Palace, but the club will now also be playing in Europe for the first time in its history next season.
Celebrations of Crystal Palace fans will last deep into the night after breaking its long drought and will surely now continue around the continent next season.
Published by Sunday Onuchukwu Osunkwo an International Sports Journalist based in the United States
Email sundayonuchukwu1@gmail.com
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