Erling Haaland (25, Manchester City) was once again silent in the final. He couldn't break the Wembley curse.
The British 'BBC' reported on the 18th (Korea time) that "Haaland will feel pain when he sees Wembley Stadium. He had the chance to end the scoring curse, but he passed the ball to Omar Marmoush. And Marmoush's penalty kick was saved by Dean Henderson."
On the same day, Manchester City lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace in the 2024-2025 season FA Cup final held at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Despite unleashing 23 shots, they ultimately could not break open the Palace goal and ended up lowering their heads.
As a result, Manchester City finished as FA Cup runners-up for two consecutive seasons. This is the first time since the 2016-2017 season that Manchester City has finished a season without a trophy. It is also only the second time in Pep Guardiola's career that he has not lifted a trophy.
In contrast, Palace wrote a new history by clinching their first major tournament trophy since their founding in 1905. Until now, they had only won the English Championship (second division) and League One (third division). Regarding the FA Cup, it is their first victory in the 164-year history since its establishment in 1871. With this win, Palace will be making their debut in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) stage next season.
For Manchester City, it is a disappointing runners-up finish. Throughout the match, they maintained a high possession rate and knocked on the Palace goal but were thwarted by Henderson's outstanding saves. They were instead defeated by a counterattack in the 16th minute, conceding the opening goal to Eberechi Eze and failed to recover.
Thus, Manchester City has confirmed a trophy-less season. The only success this season was their victory in the Community Shield at the beginning of the season. They are engaged in a tough battle for fourth place in the Premier League and were eliminated in the fourth round of the League Cup. In the UEFA Champions League (UCL), they faced Real Madrid in the round of 16 playoffs and were eliminated.
Especially, Haaland could not avoid the blame for the defeat. He played the full 90 minutes and took 3 shots, but only one was on target.
Most critically, it was a fatal mistake to concede the penalty kick to Marmoush. Haaland is the designated penalty kicker for Manchester City, but he did not take it. After touching the ball, he passed it to his teammate Marmoush. However, Marmoush's shot was accurately read by goalkeeper Henderson and was saved.
As a result, Haaland once again lowered his head at Wembley Stadium. Despite boasting a fearsome scoring ability with 30 goals this season, he has remained silent for six matches at Wembley. Additionally, he has not scored in the finals for eight consecutive matches and could not escape criticism. Some media have labeled Haaland '007' for failing to contribute any goals or assists in seven major tournament finals.
After the match, Guardiola noted, "I thought Haaland would want to take the penalty kick. We haven't talked about that situation yet. Penalty kicks are about the feelings and emotions of the players at that moment. They decided that Marmoush was ready to take it. Marmoush held the ball for a long time, and he felt more pressure. And Henderson made a great save," he sighed.
Wayne Rooney claimed that Haaland seemed to feel the pressure. He said, "Haaland is a world-class striker. But if it were Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, they would never have conceded in that situation. That's the difference between those two players and Haaland. They are selfish and want to score in every match. Perhaps taking a penalty at Wembley was too much pressure. Haaland is human too," he said.
Moreover, Haaland might have lacked confidence as he missed three out of his last seven penalty kicks. However, Manchester City veteran Micah Richards lamented, "I know Haaland's record at Wembley is poor. But the fact that he did not take the penalty kick... he usually has a lot of confidence and is arrogant."
Henderson, who saved Marmoush's shot, also acknowledged that the outcome could have been different had Haaland taken the shot. He said, "Haaland could have taken the penalty kick. I wasn’t sure which way to dive. But he passed the ball to Marmoush. I knew where Marmoush would shoot. I thought I could save it."
[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), CBS Sports Golazoo, OneFootball, BBC, Premier League Towns social media.
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