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Crystal Palace stun Manchester City to lift FA trophy

Crystal Palace stun Manchester City to lift FA trophy
Crystal Palace players celebrating Eze’s goal. PHOTO/@CPFC/X

Crystal Palace are celebrating a historic win in the FA Cup after a 1-0 victory against Manchester City at Wembley.

It’s the south London club’s first major trophy – and third time lucky after losing two previous finals they have played in.

The win also means Palace have qualified for next season’s Europa League.

Man City piled on the pressure in the first half but Eberechi Eze put his side 1-0 up with the game’s only goal in the 16th minute.

Pep Guardiola’s side were given a chance to equalise when they were awarded a penalty in the 33rd minute, but Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s spot kick.

The most controversial moment of the match came prior to the penalty save, when Henderson handled the ball outside his area to prevent Erling Haaland running through into the box.

A VAR review deemed the ball was going away from the goal and the keeper escaped a red card.

Speaking after the match, Henderson said on ITV he “didn’t know” the review was for him.

“The ball had come into the box so I wasn’t sure what they were doing it for,” he said. “Who cares, it doesn’t matter.”

In the second half, it briefly seemed the south London team had gone 2-0 up after a 58th-minute strike from Daniel Munoz but the goal was quickly ruled offside.

They then held onto their 1-0 lead until the final whistle, which came after an agonising 10 minutes of injury time.

Oliver Glasner’s team were the underdogs despite Manchester City having had a difficult season in the Premier League.

Guardiola’s side also lost to their neighbours and rivals Manchester United in last year’s cup final.

‘It’s all about spirit’

Palace goalscorer Eze said he had “no words” as he celebrated with his team mates.

“I can only thank God,” he told ITV. “This is special, this is what dreams are made of, for this club as well. Who would have thought we could do it?

“We’ve made history today. The tactics were good but it’s all about spirit. That’s energy, that’s everyone fighting together and doing what we had to do today.”

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