In a pulsating clash against a heavily favoured Manchester City side, Palace produced a performance full of grit, heart, and tactical discipline. Eberechi Eze opened the scoring in the first half with a moment of individual brilliance, weaving past two defenders before curling the ball into the top corner – sending the red-and-blue half of Wembley into raptures.

Crystal Palace. Photo: X

This landmark victory marks the club’s first major trophy and lays to rest the ghosts of two previous FA Cup final defeats, both against Manchester United in 1990 and 2016. Manager Oliver Glasner, who took over mid-season, hailed the win as a turning point for the club.

“I can’t really believe it,” said Glasner. “If you play this game ten 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 part of our bodies – with a great goalkeeper, a great mentality, and real togetherness.

EBERECHI EZE with a special goal for Crystal Palace in the FA CUP finals ??#soccerbytes #CRYMCI #FACupFinal #EmiratesFACupFinalpic.twitter.com/4RtUz2ItJF

— SoccerBytes (@SoccerBytes_) May 17, 2025

“I’m incredibly proud of the team and the staff – all the credit goes to them. I said to the players beforehand, the biggest achievement would be to give our fans a weekend to forget about whatever problems they might have at home – and now they’re enjoying it.

“Maybe there’ll be a few headaches tomorrow! This is what they deserve because they’ve always stood by us. This trophy is especially for all our fans from south London.”

The triumph not only brings long-awaited silverware to Selhurst Park, but also secures Palace a place in next season’s Uefa Europa League – offering the Eagles a chance to take flight on the continental stage.

For City, it was a second consecutive season of FA Cup heartbreak, following their 2–1 defeat to Manchester United in 2024.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg