LONDON (AP) — Crystal Palace pulled off one of the biggest FA Cup final upsets in recent memory by beating Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Palace lifted the trophy for the first time and ensured the once dominant City ends the campaign empty-handed.
Eberechi Eze’s first-half strike also secured Palace’s first major trophy.
As cup final upsets go, it was up there with Wigan’s victory over City in 2013 and Wimbledon’s famous win against Liverpool in 1988.
The outcome might have been different if Omar Marmoush had converted a first-half penalty to level the score, but his effort was saved by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
The cup triumph came at the third time of asking for Palace, which lost its previous finals in 1990 and 2016, both to Manchester United.
City has suffered back-to-back defeats in the final, having lost to United last year.
While the result will go down as an upset, in the context of City’s season, it was just a latest disappointment.
A troubled campaign has seen Pep Guardiola’s team tamely surrender the Premier League title after four triumphs in a row and crash out of the Champions League in the playoffs.
City’s form has been so bad by its high standards that it is still in danger of failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League with two games to go.
Its priority now is to secure a place in the top five that would gain entry to European club soccer’s top competition, while the Club World Cup next month offers a shot at some glory in the offseason.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson, The Associated Press
