Crystal Palace put in a titanic performance to beat Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final. Eberechi Eze's first-half goal was enough to separate the sides on a day decided by willpower and discipline.
In an entertaining spectacle that looked to mean more for the south Londoners, a dogged Palace managed to keep out their increasingly desperate opponents. The jubilation throughout the day from a cautiously excited and expectant following made Wembley Stadium as good as a home ground for Oliver Glasner's side.
. Munoz crosses low and found him inside the area to once more find the net on the national pitch.
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This goal looked simple compared to his semi-final effort but it was anything but, meeting the ball on the volley with a defender around him. It was Dean Henderson who became the saviour for Palace before half-time as he saved Omar Marmoush's penalty.
When it wasn't the former Manchester United man, surely loving life against his old rivals, it was the Palace defence chucking their bodies on the line.
Despite City holding almost all of the ball and the territory, Palace clung on for life and history. Here, football.london has a breakdown of each Palace player's performance against Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Dean Henderson - A chaotic but heroic performance. Denied Haaland and Gvardiol with good early saves before carrying a cross out of play and nearly getting sent off.
His moment of glory came after half an hour when stopping Marmoush's penalty with a one-handed parry. Also got up quickly to grab Haaland's rebound. Also leapt to his left to save a good Jeremy Doku shot shortly after. Had less to do in the second half but still stood up tall late on to keep Palace ahead. 9
Daniel Munoz - Steamed up the wing to cross for Eze's goal. Constantly going toe-to-toe with Doku. Doubled up well with Sarr and put in an almighty shift. Would have deserved his goal if Sarr hadn't been offside. Relentless intensity from the wing-back. 8
Chris Richards - Once again a magnet for the ball in the air, clearing everything that City threw at him. Cut out three right from Haaland's head and toes within 120 seconds of the second half including one goal-saving leap. That summed up his performance over two flawless matches at Wembley. 9
Maxence Lacroix - Covered well in the middle of the defence and made life hard for Haaland physically. Shut out City with countless headers and tackles. Flung himself in front of O'Reilly to make a giant last-ditch tackle with 15 minutes left. 8
Marc Guehi - Excellent at the heart of defence, organising the Palace backline and making a standout header ahead of Marmoush to thwart City before half-time. An absolute warrior as he recovered from taking a ball to the face from Wharton's shot to continue playing. A captain's performance. 8
Tyrick Mitchell - Caught out with the penalty and should never be going to ground in that scenario. Can have no complaints. Still battled with Savinho to make life tough for the City winger before losing the second half duel. 7
Adam Wharton - Provided the physical barrier in front of Palace's defence and was always on hand to receive the ball with his back to play. Dealt with the much more experienced opposition of Kevin De Bruyne and Silva like a seasoned professional himself and took one to the back of the head when jumping in front of a long shot. That demonstrated Palace's and Wharton's attitude and defiance to the whole game. 8
Daichi Kamada - Recovered brilliantly from passing his first touch out of play to set Palace free. It was hst line-breaking ball to Mateta which helped orchestate the counter for the first goal. Put in plenty of effort to shut City down in midfield and produced a goal-saving block from a Bernardo Silva shot as good as scoring himself. 8
Eberechi Eze - Arrives in the box at the perfect time to sweep home with a typically composed finish. Clipped a delightful pass to Munoz in the buildup to Sarr's flicked effort. The talisman for Palace and came up huge when it mattered. 8
Ismaila Sarr - Lively making runs into the box when Palace went forward. Drew a save from Ortega at the near post but couldn't cause too many problems with his speed. 6
Jean-Phillipe Mateta - Releases Munoz for the goal, holding the ball up att he first time he got it to feet. Worked tirelessly off the ball and against three centre-backs. Always a pest for defenders and put in a selfless display from the front. 7
Substitutes:
Jefferson Lerma (On for Guehi, 62') - Made a block with his first action and read a Haaland through ball well. Slotted into the defence well as Palace held on. 7
Eddie Nketiah (On for Mateta, 77') - Not enough time for a rating. N/A
Will Hughes (On for Wharton, 86') - Same as the above. N/A
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