Crystal Palace makes history, Serie A title drama and MLS rivalry weekend
Kick off your Monday with all the action from this past weekend
May is a month for trophies. We’ve seen that over the last two weeks — and this past weekend was no different.
Crystal Palace made history on Saturday, shocking Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium to win the FA Cup, the first trophy in the club’s long history.
Two more domestic champions were crowned when PSV Eindoven captured the Dutch league title for a second straight time, while Sporting Lisbon also retained its title in Portugal.
Here are the biggest storylines from this past weekend:
FA Cup: Crystal Palace makes history with historic 1-0 win
Crystal Palace won its first major trophy on Saturday after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium.
For Manchester City and manager Pep Guardiola, the loss represents the first trophy-less season for both since the 2016-17 season.
Eberechi Eze’s volley after 16 minutes proved to be the winning goal, as former Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson performed heroics in the Palace goal and City went on to waste several chances in an enthralling final.
For Palace, the FA Cup win represented the first major trophy in the club’s 119-year history.
Ten minutes of stoppage time saw Palace defend for their lives. Kevin De Bruyne‘s effort bounced wide and the Eagles also survived a handball scare, but they held firm to seal the biggest victory in their history.
Serie A: Title race between Napoli and Inter goes to final day
Almost everything in Italy’s top flight was uncertain heading into the penultimate round this weekend.
By the time it was over, Napoli (who could have clinched its second Italian league title in three years) will have to wait after both Antonio Conte’s team and second-placed Inter Milan were held to draws.
Napoli was held to a scoreless draw at relegation-threatened Parma (after hitting the woodwork three times), while Inter drew 2-2 against Champions League-chasing Lazio to remain one point behind the Partenopei.
Napoli will next host Cagliari, while defending champion Inter visits Como in the final round.
Should Napoli and Inter finish level on points, a one-game playoff will be needed to decide the title.
MLS: Rivalry weekend highlighted by Minnesota’s big win
Tani Oluwaseyi and Joaquín Pereyra each scored a goal on Saturday night as Dayne St. Clair made four saves allowing Minnesota United to defeat beat St. Louis City 3-0.
St. Louis remains winless — with just two draws — in its last 10 games dating to a 1-0 victory against Seattle Sounders FC on March 15 and has been shut out seven times this season.
Oluwaseyi scored a back-heel from point-blank range to open the scoring after 33 minute. Nicolas Romero, off a corner kick by Pereyra, to set up the finish. Oluwaseyi, who has six goals this season, scored for the first time since April 6.
Oluwaseyi, near the penalty spot, tapped a pass back to Pereyra for a one-touch finish from the top of the area to make it 2-0 in the 62nd minute. Minnesota made it 3-0 with second-half sub Julian Gressel in the 78th.
For all the results from this weekend, click here.
In other news: Brian Glanville — considered by many to be the greatest soccer writer on the planet — died on Friday at age 93. Glanville worked 30 years for London’s Sunday Times and also a regular contributor to World Soccer magazine for more than 50 years. He also wrote dozens of novels and books, including the best-selling “A History of the World Cup.” … One of Europe’s most shocking title races culminated Sunday in PSV Eindhoven being crowned Dutch champion at the expense of rival Ajax. PSV retained the title by beating Sparta Rotterdam 3-1, with U.S. midfielder Malik Tillman scoring the third goal to settle any nerves with Ajax playing — and winning — its game taking place at the same time. Ajax won 2-0 at home to FC Twente, but that wasn’t enough for the Amsterdam club, which finished a point behind PSV despite holding a nine-point lead with five games remaining. … Striker Viktor Gyokeres helped to lead Sporting Lisbon to its second straight Portuguese league title after city rivals Benfica was held off on the final day of the season on Saturday. Gyokeres and Pedro Goncalves delivered goals in a 2-0 home win against Vitoria SC to ensure the title stayed with Sporting.