Jesse Lingard's extra time winner gave Manchester United their first FA Cup title in 12 years, coming from behind to stun Crystal Palace at Wembley.
A late goal from Juan Mata cancelled out Jason Puncheon's opener, taking the game into an added 30 minutes of extra time. Chris Smalling did his best to turn the game with a brainless late sending off, but Lingard's stunning volley completed the turnaround as the clock ran down.
The game began in farce, from special guest Tinie Tempah rolling out of the tunnel late for the pre-match show to national anthem singer Karen Harding missing the first half of...the national anthem. The match started more than five minutes late. Members of the armed forces may have been hanging around the pitch, but there was far from military precision on display.
Crystal Palace: just two goals in the last 7 matches against Manchester United. Both by Puncheon
With fans and players already on edge, Mark Clattenburg's decision not to play an advantage when Chris Smalling brought down Connor Wickham on the left-hand side of the United box drove everyone of an Eagles persuasion almost to breaking point - with Wickham through on goal if play had been allowed to continue.
Another decision later in the first half was met by similar derision, this time with Joel Ward flying forward, but was stopped by Clattenburg's early whistle. United's habit of playing directly to the whistle though, combined with Palace's tendency to ignore the decisions and push on, did make the calls look significantly worse than they actually were.
The focus on the refereeing decisions wasn't helped by the fact that there was little else of note in the first half, as United dominated the ball without really threatening to do anything with it.
3 - Each of Man Utd's last three FA Cup finals have been goalless at HT, with the Red Devils failing to score at all in 2007 & 2005. Tepid.
The pattern resumed in the second half, with Louis van Gaal's side turning up the heat - a deft flick from Marcus Rashford shortly after the resumption putting Marouane Fellaini through, the Belgian smashing the ball into the angle of post and crossbar with Wayne Hennessey beaten.
The woodwork was rattled again on the hour mark, Hennessey stranded once again as Anthony Martial directed a looping header to his far post - the ball clanging off the upright and away to safety.
Having felt aggrieved by some refereeing decisions in the first half, Palace were lucky to keep 11 men on the field when Damian Delaney went hurtling into a dreadful, reckless challenge on Marcos Rojo - getting nowhere near the ball and wiping out the Argentine to the point that he couldn't continue the game.
The game looked to be stumbling towards a lifeless end before Puncheon struck with just over ten minutes to go, showing fantastic control in the box to smash home on the bounce and turn the game on its head.
United were looking around desperately for a moment of inspiration and got it from their captain Rooney, jinking and driving the ball past half of the Palace midfield and defence before standing up a delicate cross to the far post - where Fellaini knocked it down for Mata to hammer in from close range.
2 - Juan Mata has scored or assisted a goal in both of his FA Cup final appearances. Leveller.
Mata's goal ensured the 30 minutes of extra time which had looked inevitable before Puncheon's opener, with the game starting to open up as legs began to tire on both sides of the ball.
It wasn't just legs getting tired - Smalling's brain completely gave out just before the end of the first period of extra time, picking up a second yellow card for a rugby tackle on Yannick Bolasie when a full 80 yards from his own goal.
In the end though, Smalling's moment of madness mattered little thanks to Lingard's brilliantly controlled volley, hammering home Antonio Valencia's ball from just inside the 18-yard box to secure a famous win - and perhaps his manager's job.
Lineups
Crystal Palace: Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Zaha, Cabaye, McArthur, Jedinak, Bolasie; Wickham.
Subs: Speroni, Mariappa, Sako, Puncheon, Gayle, Adebayor.
Manchester United: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Rojo; Carrick, Fellaini; Mata, Rooney, Martial; Rashford.
Subs: Romeo, Darmian, Jones, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Young, Lingard.
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