Pep Guardiola, what were you (over) thinking? Winners and losers as arrogant tactics cost Man City dear in FA Cup final while Eberechi Eze and Dean Henderson step up to give Crystal Palace their greatest day

For the last three rounds, Eze has put the ‘magic’ in the ‘magic of the FA Cup’. He came up with a stunning brace against Fulham in the quarter-finals and got the Eagles soaring with a peach of a volley on their way to romping past Aston Villa in the semis.

So who had the final say in the, well, final? Of course it was Eze. Palace’s tactics meant it was a matter of picking and choosing their moments, taking the sparing chances that would come their way. City’s squad didn’t only cost several times more than the Eagles', but they boasted the wealth of experience having played so many of these grand occasions together before.

But when Daniel Munoz swept a low cross towards Eze after a quarter of an hour, one not too dissimilar to the ball played in for that semi-final corker, the England midfielder made no mistake. It was a move they were used to, a finish completely familiar and in-keeping with the story of Palace’s run.

Truth be told, Eze wasn’t too involved after scoring, but he didn’t need to be. Palace’s objective was to win, and Eze’s own mission was to be additive to that cause. That’s all that mattered.

Wilfried Zaha is widely considered by Eagles fans to be their best player of all time, but he failed to get his hands on the FA Cup when forming part of the 2016 team that lost to Manchester United at Wembley. Eze may have just snatched that championship belt from the Ivorian.

Guardiola had talked up the importance of the FA Cup the day before the final, but his starting line-up almost looked like him showing a lack of respect for the competition as he seemed to think he could win it without a midfield and by playing all his attackers, like an inexperienced Football Manager player.

His formation, which at first glance looked like 4-2-3-1 but at times felt like a 4-0-6, completely stifled Guardiola's players. Yes, City had 78 percent possession and 23 shots to Palace's seven, but their efforts on goal were largely desperate attempts and they never played with fluidity.

De Bruyne was playing far too deep, often looking like a quarter-back, while Haaland was given no decent service. Most managers would have corrected their tactics at half-time, but Guardiola made no changes until the 76th minute and still did not bring on a competent midfielder. Most baffingly, he unleashed 19-year-old Claudio Echeverri, who had never previously even been named as a substitute, for his debut on the biggest stage.

The coach stood by his tactics, explaining: "I think we didn't suffer. I expected the game in that way and wanted Kevin to deliver some balls. but we could not find the positions we wanted. The gameplan didn't work because we didn't win, but I didn't [regret] anything. At Southampton I had a bad feeling, but today we are sad because it's the FA Cup and it's such a beautiful day."

This defeat, however, can now be filed alongside City's 2021 Champions League final loss to Chelsea, another day when Guardiola went into battle with no specialist holding midfielders and paid the price.

Oh, how this final could have gone so differently for Henderson. He was embroiled in some early controversy when he swatted a long ball over the top away from Haaland with his hand - only this came outside the penalty area. Referee Stuart Attwell did not punish the Palace goalkeeper, but VAR took an in-depth look at the incident. After several minutes, it was decided that while Henderson did illegally handle the ball outside his own box, it did not deny Haaland an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and so was spared a red card.

That was undoubtedly a turning point. Even when City were awarded a penalty soon after, Henderson stood tall and thwarted Marmoush, diving low to his right to deny the Egyptian. That was one of six saves the England international made, but each of them were vital to ensure Palace left Wembley with the cup.

As a former Manchester United player, Henderson must have enjoyed twisting the knife in to City and Guardiola, who, he got into afters with following the full-time whistle. Once a Red Devil, always a Red Devil, eh?

Haaland has now played six matches at Wembley and still hasn't scored under the arch, while he has just two winners' medals to show for his five appearances in finals.

The Norwegian returned from his six-week injury lay off just in time for this year's showpiece, and last week's match at Southampton was his tune-up game. But when it came to it, Haaland was rusty, as he failed to beat Henderson from close range early in the game and then missed the target with his later opportunities.

But worst of all, he did not want to take City's penalty. True, he had missed his last attempt from the spot against Bournemouth, but he should have backed himself to score. That was certainly what ex-England captain Wayne Rooney thought.

"Erling Haaland is a world-class forward, but when we're talking about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there's no way they're giving that ball away," Rooney said on BBC Sport. "That's what separates them two players from Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe and these players. They are selfish and they want to score every game. When he misses chances, I think you can see it gets to him and it does affect him. Maybe the thought of taking a penalty at Wembley might have been too much for him."

Palace had to be brave to let go of club legend Roy Hodgson midway through the 2023-24 season when too many results were going against them. It was fitting he was in attendance to Wembley to watch his successor lift the cup.

Appointing Oliver Glasner has, on a tangible level, proven to be the best hire in Palace’s history. They stuck by the Austrian earlier this term when they couldn’t buy a win for love nor money, believing the process would eventually lead to results, that the ends would justify the means.

It’s worth noting that only a few weeks ago, Palace were hammered 5-2 by City at the Etihad Stadium. In his post-match press conference, Glasner proclaimed: “I said to Pep afterwards, ‘if we meet again, you can’t play this system because we will solve it’.” Lo-and-behold, Guardiola went overboard with his tactical tweaks and Palace were able to keep City at arm’s length. Bravo.

As further reward, Glasner will also be the first manager to lead Palace into European competition next season, with FA Cup glory ensuring they will partake in the Europa League, a tournament he won with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022. And hey, if these versions of Tottenham and Manchester United can get to the final to move within 90 minutes of Champions League qualification, what’s stopping Palace from going all the way?...

From a City point of view, this final was all about De Bruyne. Guardiola's pre-match press conference was dominated by talk of the Belgian while City fans unfurled a huge tifo dedicated to the playmaker before kick-off, paying for it with a helping hand from Haaland.

De Bruyne was hoping to end his glittering City career by lifting a 19th trophy, but instead endured an immensely frustrating afternoon. He was unable to get in his usual dangerous positions due to Guardiola's attacking formation, and on the few occasions he got a glimpse of goal he got his angles wrong - blazing over the bar on the rebound in the first half and dragging his late, late strike from distance wide.

The ex-Chelsea man will get the farewell party City fans owe him on Tuesday against Bournemouth in his final game at the Etihad Stadium, and helping his side secure Champions League qualification will be some consolation. But there's no prize for finishing in the top five, and De Bruyne will be hurting that he could not sign off with a real piece of silverware.

Football isn’t dead. Reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated, ironically in large part because the monotony of City’s style has driven the football world into boredom.

There’s still something left in this sport for the purists and the underdogs. Palace, like Newcastle in the Carabao Cup back in March, ended generations of hurt with victory under the Wembley arch. They left everything out on the pitch and have no regrets, triumphant over a 100-minute spectacle and totally deserving of it too.

We still need these stories. The FA Cup, whose magic is always claimed to be waning, needed one just like this. Palace are the competition’s first new winner since 2013 when Wigan Athletic beat, you guessed it, City. Isn’t it funny how football works?

For all the mistakes City made, they were right to be livid about the main flash-point of the game: Henderson remaining on the field after handling outside his area to beat Haaland to the ball. VAR made a huge mistake to not advise Attwell to review the play and send the goalkeeper off.

Needless to say, a red card midway through the first half would have thrown Palace's gameplan out of the window, and it would have been very hard to see how City would not have gone on to win it. Guardiola looked utterly furious with the call but did not want to speak about it in his press conference, merely responding: "Ask them, ask the referees."

Rooney, however, did have plenty to say on the BBC's coverage. "It is a red card - 100% a red card," he said. "Erling Haaland is about to knock it around him and Dean Henderson sweeps the ball away. It is a red card - how can they get this wrong?"

And Rooney was far from convinced with VAR's explanation that Henderson was not preventing a goal-scoring chance, adding: "Just get rid of VAR. They have made a mistake and now they are trying to cover up. It is a red card and everyone can see it's a red card."

It was difficult to disagree with him. If VAR cannot get a massive decision like this right in the biggest domestic game of the season, then what is it good for?