LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) – Crystal Palace’s momentous FA Cup victory over Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday was a one-in-10 shot, according to Oliver Glasner who became the first manager in the London club’s history to deliver major silverware.
Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute volley proved decisive as Palace, roared on by their success-starved fans, made up for two previous FA Cup final heartbreaks in 1990 and 2016.
Unlike their dominant display against Champions League quarter-finalists Aston Villa in the semi-final, Palace had only 21% possession against Pep Guardiola’s City but defended incredibly to preserve the lead given to them by Eze’s sweetly-struck effort from a Daniel Munoz cross.
“I can’t really believe it. If you play this game 10 times, we win it once and that happened today,” said Glasner, who replaced Roy Hodgson 15 months ago and is the now the first Austrian coach to win the FA Cup.
“We scored the first time we were in their half and then we defended with every single part of the body and a great goalkeeper, a great mentality and togetherness.
“I’m really proud of the team and the staff. Congratulations. All the credit goes to them.”
Glasner, whose playing career with Austrian club SV Ried was curtailed after he suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2011, took Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League title in 2022.
He will now lead Palace in the same competition next season, their first venture into a major European competition.
“I got this feeling during the season that you can achieve incredible things with this group of players,” the 50-year-old said. “We wanted to write history. I think now we wrote really a big chapter in history. Next year, we start a new chapter.”
Glasner’s name was sung by the Palace fans after the final whistle and he paid tribute to the patience they showed when Palace struggled at the start of the season.
After eight Premier League games, they had no wins and three points but have not looked back since and their run to FA Cup glory has fully vindicated the faith shown in Glasner by Palace’s chairman Steve Parish.
Palace have also matched their record Premier League points tally with two games still to play.
“We have talented players, and especially with great characters and with such a togetherness, such a great work ethic, such a great environment and atmosphere, this I think is fundamental for achieving maybe impossible things,” he said. “The players, they’ve never lost belief in me and the coaching staff.”
Speaking of Palace’s fans, who celebrated long and loud inside the stadium and were no doubt off to paint south London blue and purple, Glasner added: “Today it was Crystal Palace’s day. It was the day for our fans. Maybe there will be a few headaches tomorrow! This is what they deserve because they always stick with us. This trophy is especially for all our fans.”
An emotional Parish said Palace’s victory was great for the Cup. “I am so proud. The team, the fans, I honestly believed that we would win. That’s what Oliver’s done. He made us all believe and you could see it at the end.” (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) Wembley Stadium England Crystal Palace Manchester City
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