For the first time in 119 years, Crystal Palace have been able to bring the major trophy drought to an end after defeating Manchester City to clinch the coveted English FA Cup title, writing their name in the history books of FA Cup winners even ahead of Manchester City who have been the most dominant and successful English club in recent years.
Oliver Glasner and his charges were able to outperform their opponents in regulation time, outclassing them in various areas of the game— outwitting Pep Guardiola tactically to hold on to Eze Eberechi’s 16th minute goal till the end of the game. They also showed their prowess in various areas of the game, including the heroics of goalkeeper Dean Henderson after he saved Omar Marmoush’s penalty kick.
For the fourth time, Manchester City forward, Erling Haaland has not been able to score at the Wembely Stadium after he handed over the penalty ball to Marmoush to convert but was just denied by the Dean Henderson. Again, the former Manchester United shot stopper denied Haaland an opportunity to score when the former thwarted his golden opportunity to end his Wembley Stadium goal drought by deliberately handling the ball outside the box which he was fortunate enough to dodge a red card after VAR overturned the decision, citing it was not a goal scoring opportunity.
The Eagles have been able to cement a league phase spot in next season’s UEFA Europa League and also the English Community Shield against Liverpool FC which is slated for August 9 next season.
However, Manchester City have just set another record of losing all 7 FA Cup finals they have been to in their history. Furthermore, Manchester City will tend to finish the season on a rather unexpected note, having won just the Community Shield prior to the start of the season and losing out on the Champions League, Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup trophies, also still vying for a Champions League spot for next season—a daunting one for the Cityzens as they draw closer to the end of the season.
Crystal Palace on the other hand will be looking to grace the UEFA Europa League with their determined aim of winning games in Europe and going a long way to making history as it will be their first ever European competition.
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