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Sixth Tier Macclesfield FC Produce Biggest FA Cup Upset Ever!

The FA Cup never fails to produce an absolute box office showing at every opportunity. Last season it was Plymouth beating eventual Premier League champions Liverpool, this season however their has been a much more special moment.

Macclesfield FC are currently in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football. They aren't having an amazing season, currently sat in 14th, but today's magnificent home win vs last seasons FA Cup winners Crystal Palace is something that makes all else not matter. This is the first time that someone in the sixth tier of English football has ever beaten a team from the Premier League, let alone the reigning champions of the Cup.

The game finished with the home side beating the away side 2-1, with Macclesfield going two goals up before Crystal Palace halved the deficit with a free-kick, this wasn't enough however. It wasn't just a game of luck as you would expect, Crystal Palace were the team under pressure for large parts of the match, with Macclesfield securing a very deserved win, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner even stated this himself! It will be very interesting to see who they draw on Monday, with the draw taking place at Anfield before Liverpool face off against League One Barnsley.

🚨🗣️ Oliver Glasner: "We give congratulations to Macclesfield for winning. We had NO kind of quality today and I saw NO one who could win a dribble."

"If you can't create clear chances, it is a lack of quality that we have shown today. We deserved to lose... honestly, I have no… pic.twitter.com/Vz0SvUywv7
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) January 10, 2026

It was late into the first half where Macclesfield found their breakthrough, after a set piece was whipped in onto the head of Paul Dawson who found the back of the net. The home side continued creating chances into the second half, with Isaac Buckley-Ricketts getting a strong touch on the ball which was enough to put it past Crystal Palace keeper Benitez, doubling the lead for the home side in the 60th minute. They had 30 minutes to hold on to create history, they did exactly that.

THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING! 🤯🤯

Non league Macclesfield lead #FACup holders Crystal Palace 2-0!!!

Isaac Buckley-Ricketts pokes home their second goal 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/JzgNGQn6Ji
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 10, 2026

I have never seen such a deserving upset of this magnitude ever. Crystal Palace are 117 places above Macclesfield in the English footballing pyramid and just got dominated! A late surge of chances from Crystal Palace came and went as they could only manage to convert one, which to be fair was a lovely placed free-kick by Yeremy Pino.

A day full of amazing stories, but one that may tip them all is the story of the scorer of the opener, Paul Dawson. The midfielder used to be a supervisor on the motorway but he quit in order his job to pursue his football career at Macclesfield. Fast forward to today he has played against the FA Cup holders, scored and put in the Man of the Match performance. What a story.

Paul Dawson quit his job as a supervisor on the motorway to pursue his football career at Macclesfield.

Today, he’s just knocked out the FA Cup holders Crystal Palace, scored a goal and won MOTM.

What a story. 👏❤️ pic.twitter.com/tL7wea8w7e
— george (@StokeyyG2) January 10, 2026

This is an amazing moment for everyone involved with Macclesfield and they will be more than ready to create more history in the next round, whoever they are put against!