FA Cup player ratings as Crystal Palace rewrite history books vs disjointed Manchester City | OneFootball

Crystal Palace won their first-ever piece of major silverware by beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium this afternoon.

Keen to avoid their first trophyless campaign since Pep Guardiola’s maiden season in charge, Man City flew out of the traps, keeping Palace in their opening third from the outset.

However, Guardiola’s over-zealous tactics backfired on the dethroned Premier League champions in the 16th minute as Oliver Glasner’s team punished them with a lethal counter-attack.

Daniel Munoz was too hot to handle for Nico O’Reilly, sprinting down the right flank before finding in-form Eberechi Eze with a perfect low cross.

The Englishman still had a lot to do, but he caught the Colombian’s cutback with venom, slotting the ball into the bottom far corner to unlock City’s defence.

Palace could’ve made it 2-0 only four minutes later, but Stefan Ortega pulled off a massive save to parry away his first-time effort from point-blank range.

Man City tried to reply midway through the second half when Tyrick Mitchell’s lapse of concentration saw referee Stuart Attwell point to the spot after a reckless challenge on Bernardo Silva.

However, Omar Marmoush, who took responsibility instead of Erling Braut Haaland, failed to beat Dean Henderson as her leapt to save his feeble attempt.

City had to wait until late in the first half for their first scoring chance from open play. Jeremie Doku danced past two Palace players, only for Henderson to deny him with another fabulous diving save.

The second half started in the same vein, with Man City dominating possession and Palace sitting with all ten men behind the ball.

Glasner’s side nearly put the game to bed just before the hour mark. Munoz thought he had doubled the Eagles’ lead before VAR disallowed his goal for a clear offside in the build-up.

Despite being thrown a new lease of life, Man City couldn’t find a way past Palace’s low block, with second-half substitute Claudio Echeverri coming closest to beating Henderson.

He came up huge again to thwart the youngster one-on-one, putting the final nail in the coffin of Man City’s hopes of winning an eighth FA Cup crown.

Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1)

Dean Henderson (10/10) – Match officials offered him a lifeline in the game, overlooking his early blunder, and he seized the opportunity with both hands. In addition to thwarting Marmoush’s penalty, he made a terrific save to deny Doku towards the end of the first half.

Marc Guehi (8/10) – Forced off with a head injury midway through the second half, the dependable Palace captain didn’t put his foot wrong at Wembley, leading by example.

Maxence Lacroix (8/10) – A commanding presence at the back, Lacroix was particularly impressive in his duels with Haaland. Dominant in the air.

Chris Richards (7/10) – Got away with an erratic piece of play inside his own six-yard box early on when he tried to be clever but learned from that mistake and grew into the contest as the game progressed.

Tyrick Mitchell (7/10) – Despite a standout defensive performance against Savinho, he was naive in that 36th minute, allowing Silva to draw a cheap penalty, but Henderson bailed him out.

Adam Wharton (8/10) – With Palace barely having any possession, the young gun had a chance to demonstrate his defensive prowess, breaking up play intelligently and showing maturity beyond his years in shielding the backline.

Daichi Kamada (7/10) – Like his midfield companion, the Japanese star didn’t have much room to operate with the ball at his feet but made up for a lack of attacking contribution with a tireless work rate.

Daniel Munoz (9/10) – Lethal on the break, the Colombian wing-back set up Eze on a platter and nearly did the same for Ismaila Sarr moments later. However, struggled defensively against Doku. Unlucky not to make it 2-0.

Eberechi Eze (8/10) – That wasn’t a simple finish by any stretch of the imagination, but the sought-after forward is in that kind of form where everything looks easy. Won’t lose much sleep for turning on a stealth mode afterwards.

Ismaila Sarr (5/10) – Vanished from the game after squandering a golden opportunity to double Palace’s lead in the 20th minute as Ortega denied his close-range strike with a stunning leg save.

Jean-Philippe Mateta (5/10) – Cut off from the rest of the pack, the towering striker had a rough game but did his part in the build-up to Eze’s goal, releasing Munoz in space after a brilliant hold-up play.

Substitutions

Jefferson Lerma (6/10)

Eddie Nketiah (3/10)

Will Hughes (N/A)

Manchester City (4-2-3-1)

Stefan Ortega (6/10) – Eze’s inch-perfect strike left him powerless, but he atoned with a superb reflex four minutes later. Jobless after that.

Manuel Akanji (5/10) – Deployed out of position, the Swiss defender couldn’t affect the play from right-back and showed signs of frustration in a heated altercation with Mateta late in the first half.

Ruben Dias (6/10) – Struggled to cope with Mateta’s intimidating physical presence more than once, losing a key battle, which led to Palace’s opener.

Josko Gvardiol (7/10) – Far more convincing than his centre-back colleague, the Croatian ace stepped in with timely interventions to limit further damage.

Nico O’Reilly (4/10) – Guardiola’s tactical experiment didn’t come to fruition. The size of the occasion got the better of the teenager, who never gained a foothold in the match.

Bernardo Silva (6/10) – Used all of his experience in high-profile clashes to force the referee to point to the spot. It was his only noteworthy contribution. Had some neat touches, but without an end product.

Kevin De Bruyne (5/10) – Man City needed a vintage De Bruyne to find a breakthrough. However, nothing went his way. Forgettable game, barring one through ball for O’Reilly.

Savinho (4/10) – Spent most of the game in Mitchell’s back pocket despite some promising attempts early in the second half. Should’ve been replaced much sooner.

Omar Marmoush (2/10) – Had he not taken the penalty, we would’ve been talking of an anonymous performance from the Egyptian superstar. He would wish he didn’t.

Jeremie Doku (7/10) He tried to be a point of difference and nearly was at the tail-end of the first half, only for Henderson to fingertip his delightful curler over the bar. Gave Richards a run for his money.

Erling Braut Haaland (2/10) – Another unenviable showing from the Man City talisman. Another appearance at Wembley without scoring. Another final to forget.

Substitutions