When Was The Last Time Crystal Palace Were In An FA Cup Final?

Crystal Palace beat Aston Villa in the first of two FA Cup finals today, securing their place in the final where they will face either Manchester City or Nottingham Forest. The Eagles have had a pretty good season this year, and could still qualify for Europe regardless of the outcome of their Wembley final in May.

Crystal Palace didn’t have the best start to the season, and for a while it looked like they could be in a relegation fight. It took them until Matchday nine for Palace to win their first match this season, beating Tottenham 1-0 at home. They are still in with a shot of securing European football this season, either by winning the FA Cup or getting favourable results in their final league matches this season. Just two defeats in 13 matches between the end of December and the first game of April has seen them climb up the table and put pressure on Fulham, Brighton and Bournemouth.

How Did Crystal Palace Make It To The Final?

Like Aston Villa, Crystal Palace had quite an easy run up until they reached the semi final. Their first match saw them face Stockport County in Round 3, where they won 1-0 at Selhurst Park thanks to a goal from Eberechi Eze inside the first five minutes. Stockport finished that match with just 25% possession but four shots on target, compared to Palace’s three.

❌ The FA are considering giving Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts a longer ban for his challenge on Mateta.

🚑 Mateta had to be given 25 stitches after suffering a severe laceration to his left ear. pic.twitter.com/WddOT8FOnP

— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) March 3, 2025

Matches against Doncaster Rovers and London rivals Millwall followed, both of which ended up being comfortable wins for Palace. Doncaster actually managed more shots than Palace, however most of them were speculative efforts and the visitors eventually won 2-0. The Millwall game looked a little tighter, however Palace didn’t worry too much, except when the Millwall goalkeeper clattered into Jean-Philippe Mateta, and the striker had to be taken off with a severe head injury.

Palace’s Quarter-Final was against Fulham away from home. Many thought going into this game that Palace would be knocked out, as Fulham were and still are in real contention to finish inside a European spot this season. The hosts did dominate the game, but it was Crystal Palace who came out on top with a remarkable 3-0, completely against the run of play.

During the Semi-Final against Aston Villa, everything seemed to go Crystal Palace’s way. Despite having less possession and fewer shots than Villa, Palace looked as if they were never in danger of conceding, with Villa’s chances being limited to snap shots or comfortable saves for Dean Henderson. Even with a penalty missed by Mateta and a goal controversially disallowed by VAR, Palace were able to win the game 3-0 and book their place in this season’s FA Cup Final. A brace from Ismaila Sarr after a stunning strike from Eze made Villa's afternoon a miserable one.

Crystal Palace’s FA Cup History

Crystal Palace have very little pedigree in the FA Cup, having only managed to reach the final on two separate occasions and having never won it. Their first final came in 1990, where they lost in a final replay against Manchester United. Ian Wright scored twice for Palace in the first final, but that game ended 3-3. The following match ended 1-0 to Manchester United, after the referee, who was from Brighton, failed to award Crystal Palace a penalty.

🦅 Ian Wright at Crystal Palace pic.twitter.com/rm7TDK79sw

— Vintage Football Shirts (@VFshirts) March 11, 2023

Crystal Palace’s most recent FA Cup final appearance came in 2015/16, just one year after Aston Villa lost their most recent cup final. Palace had by no means an easy run to the final, playing just one team outside of the top flight the whole time, beating Championship side Reading in the Quarter Final. Once again they faced Manchester United in the final, losing in extra time thanks to a Jesse Lingard goal in the 110th minute. The deadlock was broken by Palace with just 12 minutes to go, but United equalised three minutes later, before winning in extra time.