Crystal Palace heroes shine on famous day for club as they win first major trophy with victory over Manchester City - FA Cup final player ratings

On a day Crystal Palace fans will never forget, the club's heroes delivered their first major trophy in style with an instantly famous 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Eberechi Eze was the match-winner with his clinical finish in the 16th minute, but the England forward was just one of the Palace players who had the game of their lives at Wembley Stadium.

Crystal Palace celebrated their first major trophy on the biggest stage in English football after producing a huge shock to defeat Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

Pep Guardiola's side were appearing in their third FA Cup final in as many seasons, and they came into the clash as overwhelming favourites, but it was Palace who stole the show.

Their two previous appearances in 1990 and 2016 saw them fall to heartbreaking defeats against Manchester United on both occasions, but they were not going to be denied this time around after Eberechi Eze wrote his name into the history books with a memorable finish early on.

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Below the Palace player ratings, have your say by voting for who you thought was the player of the match. And yes, all of the Palace starters are in contention...

Crystal Palace

Dean Henderson - 9 - Even with the controversy over his handling outside the box in the first half, the England goalkeeper had a blinder. To note just some of his saves, he made a fine reflex stop to deny Erling Haaland in the seventh minute before he repelled Josko Gvardiol five minutes later, again from close range. But the best was to follow, as he heroically saved Omar Marmoush's penalty in front of the jubilant Palace fans.

Chris Richards - 8 - The 25-year-old rose to the occasion in a big way and ensured he was in the right place at the right time on a number of occasions to thwart City with key interventions. He was rarely ever not exactly where he needed to be.

Maxence Lacroix - 8 - Like his fellow central defenders next to him, it was a hugely impressive showing from the Frenchman, who was commanding and incredibly strong throughout. City were left hugely frustrated by his presence.

Marc Guehi - 8 - A rock at the back, as the England defender so often is for his side. He was largely imperious when on the pitch, but had to be withdrawn midway through the second half after sustaining an unfortunate blow to the head.

Tyrick Mitchell - 7 - After having been under the cosh early on coming up against Savinho, the 25-year-old responded with an impeccable challenge in the penalty area to deny the Brazilian, and then again minutes later to thwart Haaland. He rashly brought down Bernardo Silva from a tight angle in the box to concede the penalty, only to be rescued by Henderson.

Daniel Munoz - 9 (player of the match) - The Colombian was electrifying at key moments in the match. A surging run and delivery into the box to pick out Eze in the 16th minute stunned City, and it was just what Palace needed on the counter-attack. Time and again, he stretched City on the break, while he also defended superbly. A truly heroic display.

Daniel Munoz celebrates FA Cup glory for Crystal Palace

Image credit: Getty Images

Daichi Kamada - 8 - It was a supremely impressive performance from the Japanese midfielder - the first from his country to play in an FA Cup final - who interchanged superbly with Adam Wharton and had the energy to constantly harry and chase when Palace needed his legs. He prompted a huge roar with a brilliant challenge inside the box to deny Silva early in the second half.

Adam Wharton - 8 - The England midfielder enjoyed much less of the ball than he would have liked, but he largely protected the Palace back four effectively and ran himself into the ground. He received a huge ovation when he limped off in the 87th minute.

Ismaila Sarr - 8 - It was an incredibly selfless display from the 27-year-old, who spent most of his afternoon defending high up and working unbelievably hard to halt City as they tried to build in possession.

Eberechi Eze - 9 - The match-winner. It was the perfect day for the England international, who was forced to play extremely deep down the left as City piled on the pressure, and yet despite that, he produced a clinical finish to send the Palace fans into delirium in the 16th minute.

Jean-Philippe Mateta - 8 - The forward was handed the thankless task of leading the line as Palace soaked up pressure from City and duly got on the ball very little. He still managed to frustrate City's defenders when trying to hold the ball up and executed his job superbly.

Subs

Will Hughes - 7 - The midfielder came on to replace Wharton in the closing minutes to provide fresh energy and legs, and he certainly delivered on that brief.

Jefferson Lerma - 8 - The substitute had a key role to play after he unexpectedly came on for Guehi midway through the second half. To his immense credit, he picked up just where the England defender left off.

Eddie Nketiah - 7 - The ex-Arsenal man replaced Mateta in the second half and played an important role in the final third. He drew a key foul from Kevin De Bruyne to alleviate pressure in the 85th minute and ran as hard as he could.

Have your say...

Manchester City

Stefan Ortega - 5 - It was a quiet afternoon in many ways for the German goalkeeper, and he appeared as stunned as everyone else inside Wembley Stadium when he had to pick the ball out of his net in the early stages.

Manuel Akanji - 5 - The Switzerland defender was beaten to the ball by Eze for the Palace goal as he lost his bearings in the box at a crucial moment. He was punished ruthlessly.

Josko Gvardiol - 6 - The 23-year-old was solid defensively and looked a threat in forward areas at times. However, he perhaps should have done better with a header, which he directed straight at Henderson in the 12th minute.

Ruben Dias - 6 - The centre-back seemed to be constantly on the ball, which perhaps demonstrated the struggles City had in breaking Palace down, despite having so much of the ball.

Nico O'Reilly - 5 - The 20-year-old was the nearest man to Munoz when the Palace player stormed down the right to provide the crucial assist for Eze. Later, he was booked for a cynical tug on Munoz after getting caught again just after the hour mark.

Bernardo Silva - 6 - So often the architect of key moments, the veteran won the penalty for City with a strong run into the box to draw the foul from Mitchell. He looked to have provided the inspiration his side needed yet again, only for the opportunity to be squandered.

Kevin De Bruyne - 6 - City's departing legend demonstrated his class with a delightful ball to provide Erling Haaland with a glorious chance in the seventh minute. He then blazed a glorious opportunity over the bar following a Jeremy Doku shot in the 43rd minute without his usual composure. It was a frustrating day for the Belgian, and certainly not the fitting ending to his illustrious City career he would have hoped for.

Kevin De Bruyne is left frustrated for Manchester City in the FA Cup final

Image credit: Getty Images

Savinho - 6 - The Brazilian gave Mitchell and Eze a challenging time down City's right flank early on, but he faded out of the game for large periods without having an impact. He was replaced by Phil Foden in the 76th minute.

Jeremy Doku - 5 - Tasked with causing havoc down the City left, the winger brought one of many fine saves out of Henderson in the 43rd minute with a jink inside and curled shot. Like many City players, he floated in and out of the game when more was needed.

Omar Marmoush - 5 - After perhaps surprisingly taking the ball out of Haaland's hands, he proceeded to produce a penalty that lacked conviction in front of the raucous Palace fans. He cut a frustrated figure when withdrawn in the second half.

Erling Haaland - 5 - City's talisman came very close early on with a stabbed shot from close range, but the Norwegian struggled to make his mark on the game. Should he have been stronger in demanding to take his side's key penalty? He may well feel so now after Marmoush's miss.

Subs

Claudio Echeverri - 5 - The Argentine debutant arrived as part of a double-substitution in the 76th minute as Guardiola looked to inspire a spark. He forced another smart save from Henderson late on, but it was a fleeting impact.

Phil Foden - 5 - There was a big roar from the City fans as one of their favourites was introduced in the second half, but he failed to produce anything of note.

Ilkay Gundogan - 5 - The midfielder was introduced in the 88th minute to replace Silva, but he was not really able to get into the game or force a late breakthrough for his side.

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