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10 man Manchester United have beaten Crystal Palace to win the 135th FA Cup.
Jesse Lingard scored the game winning goal in the 110’ minute of extra time in a game that was quite dead until the goals started flowing.
Manchester United and Crystal Palace had combined to manufacture just 3 shots on target between them before Palace’s Jason Puncheon broke the deadlock in the 78th minute:
From that point on it was as if a game broke out amid a stroll in the park.
Manchester United equalized just three minutes later. Wayne Rooney picked up the ball deep in midfield and dribbled all the way into Palace’s area. He crossed the ball to Marouane Fellaini who chested it down to Juan Mata. The Spaniard then finished off the move with a drilled strike towards the near post the squeezed in past Palace defender Joel Ward.
Things took a turn for the worse for United at the end of the first half of extra time when defender Chris Smalling was sent off with a second yellow for dragging down Yannick Bolasie, but Palace was unable to capitalize on the man advantage: no one will be more aware of this than Dwight Gayle, who had a brilliant opportunity to put Palace ahead in the 107th minute but had his effort saved.
Three minutes later Jesse Lingard did what Gayle could not and gave United a lead they would never relinquish:
It was a sweet strike and a goal deserving of the label FA Cup Winner.
This is Manchester United’s 12th FA Cup win of all time, which puts them level with Arsenal as the club who has won the competition most.
