Crystal Palace Win FA Cup, Surpassing Fictional Story of Ted Lasso

LONDON, SATURDAY — The phenomenal sports series, Ted Lasso, tells the story of AFC Richmond's defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinals. The fictional story was defeated by Crystal Palace. They defeated City in the final of the world's oldest competition to lift the first trophy and a special 120th birthday present in September.

In the second season of Ted Lasso, fictional Premier League team AFC Richmond were powerless to stop City from causing an FA Cup upset. Richmond have close ties with Palace.

This is because the filming for the Richmond home games, which has a venue named Nelson Road Stadium, was conducted at Selhurst Park, the home of Palace.

Although fictional, Richmond still could not conquer City. A contrasting condition was created in the real world. Palace won their first FA Cup by defeating City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday (18/5/2025).

A solitary goal from winger Eberechi Eze in the 16th minute helped Palace lift the prestigious trophy while also delivering a trophy-less season for City in the Pep Guardiola era since 2016-2017.

On the other hand, Palace will also make its debut in European club competitions, specifically the Europa League, in the 2025-2026 season. Clearly, this is a journey for "The Eagles" that surpasses a fictional tale.

The Palace finally secured the FA Cup trophy after making their third attempt to reach the final at Wembley. Previously, they had failed to become champions in the finals of the 1989-1990 and 2015-2016 editions.

Manager Oliver Glasner led Palace to victory as the 45th FA Cup champions. They are the third new champions to appear in the FA Cup in the 21st century, following in the footsteps of Wigan Athletic (2012-2013) and Leicester City (2020-2021).

Similar to Palace, Glasner, the Austrian tactician, also secured the first trophy of his coaching career, which has spanned 10 seasons. He won the title for Palace in his 60th game in charge at Selhurst Park.

Wayne Rooney, the legend of Manchester United, stated that Palace arrived at Wembley with a well-prepared match plan. For Rooney, the Eagles came to play to become champions.

"In the first half, they (Palace) had several opportunities. When Man City continued to press in the second half, they defended remarkably. Palace knew they came to work hard. Palace performed very well," said Rooney, the FA Cup winner of 2015-2016 with MU, to the BBC.

Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson acknowledged that the game plan devised by Glasner was a crucial factor in the victory of the Eagles. He takes pride in being part of the historic squad of Palace.

"It was fantastic. We had a feeling today was going to be our day. The manager put together a game plan and we executed it perfectly. We deserved to be champions," said Henderson, who made six saves at Wembley, as quoted by Sky Sports.

Meanwhile, City's performance in the FA Cup final indicates a waning confidence from City Manager Pep Guardiola in their key players from previous seasons. Guardiola sidelined Phil Foden and Jack Grealish in the starting lineup.

As is known, Foden is the owner of the 2023-2024 Premier League Player of the Year title. Although he came on in the second half to replace Savinho, Foden's role was not significant for City. Grealish, who performed brilliantly in the treble winner season of "The Citizens" in 2022-2023, instead became an unused substitute.

Instead of substituting Grealish, Guardiola instead provided a debut opportunity to the young attacking midfielder Claudio Echeverri. The mainstay of the Argentina U-17 team in the 2023 U-17 World Cup in Indonesia had a chance in the 90+6 minute that was successfully parried by Henderson.

In addition, Guardiola also removed the main penalty taker role from Erling Haaland. Omar Marmoush took City's only penalty opportunity in the 36th minute. Henderson saved Marmoush's shot that was directed to the right side of the Palace goal.

"To be honest, Haaland should have taken that (penalty). He passed it to Marmoush and I knew where the ball was going. I knew I could save it," Henderson added.

Eze, the decisive factor in the victory, stated that the win against City is the result of the long struggle of the Palace players throughout their careers. He continued that this experience could help the Eagles perform flawlessly in the final match.

"I cannot breathe. Maintaining possession of the ball well, so we have to work very hard to get something from them. When we reach their penalty area, we must ensure that the opportunity can be utilized effectively," Eze stated as reported by the BBC.

In addition to Eze's goal, Palace scored a second through Daniel Munoz's tap-in in the 61st minute. However, the goal was disallowed because a Palace player was in an offside position before Munoz fired a shot that shook the City net.

Guardiola said Palace's win came from their first chance. It took Palace just 18 seconds from Henderson's build-up to Eze's tap-in. The Spanish tactician was disappointed with the lack of luck for his side.

"We played very well, did everything. Unfortunately we couldn't score," Guardiola told ITV Sport.