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The FA Cup final was played out between Crystal Palace and Manchester United and Louis van Gaal’s men went on to win the game 2-1 deep into extra time as the scores were level after normal time.
The game was a cagey affair initially before springing to life all of a sudden. Substitute Jason Puncheon opened the scoring deep into the second half before Juan Mata equalized just a few minutes later. The game was taken into extra time as a result.
In extra time, Chris Smalling was sent off on the edge of the first half, for a second bookable offence. However, 10 men Manchester United completed their comeback via a Jesse Lingard spectacular goal which left Crystal Palace scrambling to respond which they failed to do.
Let’s have a look at the game’s talking points.
#1 Louis van Gaal finally wins a trophy and loses his job?
It’s one of fate’s cruelest ironies that a man who has faced much criticism over the years for not living up to his billing as a tactical genius and a winner at Manchester United will probably be losing his job within moments of winning a trophy.
It was right before Louis van Gaal stepped out to face the media in a conference post match that news broke out everywhere that Manchester United had agreed on terms with Jose Mourinho and this didn’t seem like a false alarm with almost every major media outlet reporting the matter.
Van Gaal seemed oblivious to the news or feigned ignorance as he continued to speak on in the media with plans for reinforcements next season. However, regardless of whether he knew or not, it seemed to reek of classlessness on the part of the camp which leaked the news (which seems to be true) that a man should win a trophy and have to end up with such humiliation right after.
Manchester United’s media team are yet to issue a denial and for what it’s worth, Van Gaal has gone out on a relative high with a trophy to speak of from all his jobs in major European Club football.
#2 Alan Pardew shows off his dancing skills
The biggest of games and Wembley stadium can bring out the best in people. Sometimes, it makes players go over the edge and push themselves into heroics while in some cases, it brings out a side of folk you never knew was possibly there.
Alan Pardew seemed to get a few things right as on the night as he celebrated the opening goal of the game, which he could’ve mistaken as the winner, considering how late the goal came into the game, by doing a little dance in front of the Palace faithful.
Pardew’s little jig became a talking point of a game where he ended up stifling Manchester United for most of it and made the audience feel claustrophobic for the rest with memories of his dance which was also probably his worst possible response to Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge’s poor er flailing of arms.
Imagine you’re Jason Puncheon and you’ve just scored the opening goal and wheeled off in celebration only to see your manager jump into a hideous dance. You’d probably be forgiven for losing your bearings and thinking of the dance all game instead of making more of the lead you just managed to create.
Not a surprise that the Leveler came within minutes of the opener and the Pardew point of passion.
#3 Jesse Lingard proves himself to be a winner
The true mettle and character of a player are truly tested on occasions such as a visit to Wembley. The players on the Manchester United starting line-up have had their days, with many a visit to the esteemed English stadium in search of silverware. However, on this front, it was a truly special moment for a player like Jesse Lingard.
Having been finally thrust into the first team plans with United making use of his services more regularly since October last year, Lingard was brought on to change things as they stood deadlocked after a Juan Mata strike leveled a Jason Puncheon rocket. It took him a while in the game to do what he was asked but he did it as a hero would on the occasion.
With the score tied at 1-1, Chris Smalling got himself sent off on the brink of half-time in the extra time. It was a special moment when Manchester United managed to weave an attack and the ball was crossed in by Antonio Valencia as it came off a Palace head into the path of Lingard.
At this moment, he was tussling with a Palace defender but in exactly a split second he put his foot to the ball with sublime technique and half-volleyed the ball into the net like a rocket and Wayne Hennessey stood there, stunned. A Hero was born on the night, a special one as it turned out for academy graduate, Jesse Lingard.
#4 Crystal Palace’s woeful season ends with Déjà vu for Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew will probably have a right hangover of the morning as media looks at his premature jig in light-hearted comic standing but there was nothing funny in it for the Palace fans and the manager himself on the evening.
The FA Cup loss hurts more, not in the least for the fact that, they were only 12 odd minutes from winning the game but for the fact that Crystal Palace have had a woeful season overall. The Palace side came into the game having finished 15th in the table and just 5 points above the relegation zone.
This was regression for a team that had finished tenth last season and was looking to break into European spots this season. Alan Pardew knew the FA Cup would’ve turned their season around from the abysmal to the excellent. Alas, it was not to be!
This wasn’t the first time manager Alan Pardew has had to face the ignominy of being a loser in the final of the FA Cup. It was in his days as a player with Crystal Palace that he faced similar heartbreak and more recently in the 2006 FA Cup final as West Ham manager as his side lost to Liverpool on penalties then.
As a player for Crystal Palace, who did Alan Pardew’s team bow out to in the 1990 FA Cup final? Manchester United. Déjà vu much?
Well, at least Alan has his dancing skills intact.
#5 There’s still life in Wayne Rooney
It’s been an odd couple of years for Wayne Rooney as his decline as a player coinciding with his ageing body has not settled in well for the scouser and his umpteen fans. The idea has been rather inexplicable that his talismanic aura may finally have ceded and it would be time for him to move on.
Wayne Rooney has been a permanent presence since his debut for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. Not without reason but toward the end of Ferguson’s reign as manager, he tried to get Wayne to reinvent himself in a different position and at that point Rooney ended up disgruntled and unwilling.
Fast forward a few years and suddenly we have him playing almost as a central midfielder and struggling to come to terms with it visibly but now he is less disgruntled and seems to have accepted his fate except for the rambling that the game is beyond him at the highest level. Wayne Rooney earned his FA Cup medal, which has twice evaded him before this.
With Manchester United having conceded late in the game, he ran the Palace defense ragged with a stunning run before crossing perfectly for Fellaini who brought the ball down on his chest for Mata to equalize. He then worked extra hard in extra time once Smalling was sent off to connect defense and offense as he roared into tackles to make up for the loss of a player.
It was a performance that typified Wayne Rooney as United came back to win and went on to show, that there’s life in the steadily ageing Wayne yet!
