The man city vs crystal palace f.c. timeline stretches back more than a century, to a first meeting played in January 1921.
Their most recent encounter kicked off at 8:00pm UK time (19:00 UTC) on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City won 3-0 through goals from Phil Foden, Omar Marmoush, and Savinho.
That result added to a fixture history of 76 meetings across all competitions, one dominated overall by City but punctuated by some notable Crystal Palace upsets, including a shock FA Cup final win.
This article sets out the man city vs crystal palace f.c. timeline in full, using the available historical record to trace the rivalry from its earliest days to the present season.
Early Meetings and Historic Milestones
The very first meeting between the two clubs came in January 1921, when Crystal Palace won 2-0 at home in the first round of the FA Cup.
Manchester City had to wait just over five years for revenge, which arrived in emphatic fashion, with an 11-4 win at Maine Road in the FA Cup fifth round.
That result remains City’s biggest win over Crystal Palace to date.
The two sides met regularly in the old Divisions One and Two between the mid-1960s and early 1990s, a period in which City won fourteen and drew seven of their thirty league meetings.
At the start of the Premier League era, Palace drew each of their first three meetings with City, before City won a 4-0 League Cup tie and a 2-1 league match within the space of four months in 1995.
Both clubs later spent a spell together in the second tier, facing each other six times over three years, with two wins, two draws, and two losses apiece.
More recently, Crystal Palace pulled off one of the fixture’s biggest shocks by beating City 1-0 in the 2025 FA Cup final at Wembley.
Timeline of key eras
| Period | Notable outcome |
|---|---|
| Jan 1921 | First meeting; Palace win 2-0 in the FA Cup |
| ~1926 | Man City win 11-4 at Maine Road, biggest-ever win in the fixture |
| Mid-1960s–early 1990s | City win 14 of 30 league meetings |
| 1995 | City win League Cup tie 4-0 and league game 2-1 within four months |
| Dec 2018 & Oct 2020 | Palace’s only 2 wins in last 21 PL meetings, both at the Etihad |
| 2025 | Palace win FA Cup final 1-0 at Wembley |
| May 13, 2026 | Most recent league meeting; City win 3-0 at the Etihad |
Key points from this era:
- The first-ever meeting, in January 1921, was won by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup
- Man City’s 11-4 win in the mid-1920s remains the biggest victory in the fixture’s history
- City have historically had the upper hand in league meetings across the decades
- Crystal Palace’s only two wins in their last twenty-one Premier League meetings both came at the Etihad
- Palace beat City in the 2025 FA Cup final, one of the biggest upsets in the fixture’s recent history
Head-to-Head Record and Recent Form
Across all competitions, Crystal Palace and Manchester City have met 76 times.
City hold a clear lead in the overall record, with 41 wins to Palace’s 18, while 17 meetings have ended in draws.
Since dropping into the second tier together and returning to the top flight, City have dominated the fixture, winning 23, drawing 5, and losing just 4 of their last 32 meetings with Palace.
The most recent Premier League meeting, on May 13, 2026, saw City win 3-0 at the Etihad, with Phil Foden opening the scoring before further goals from Omar Marmoush and Savinho.
That victory kept City within two points of the Premier League summit with two games remaining that season.
Palace’s own recent history in the fixture has included some notable high points away from the league table, most significantly their 2025 FA Cup final win at Wembley.
In league football specifically, Palace have won only two of their last twenty-one Premier League meetings with City, both of those coming away from home.
All-time head-to-head snapshot
| Metric | Manchester City | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
| Total meetings | 76 | 76 |
| Wins | 41 | 18 |
| Draws | 17 | 17 |
| Last 32 meetings (wins) | 23 | 4 |
| Last 21 PL meetings (wins) | — | 2 |
Recent meetings
| Date | Result |
|---|---|
| May 13, 2026 | Man City 3-0 Crystal Palace |
| 2025 | Crystal Palace 1-0 Man City (FA Cup final) |
| Oct 2020 | Crystal Palace win at the Etihad |
| Dec 2018 | Crystal Palace win at the Etihad |
| Apr 2015 | Crystal Palace 2-1 Man City (Selhurst Park) |
Key points from this section:
- Man City lead the all-time record 41 wins to 18, with 17 draws from 76 meetings
- City have won 23 of their last 32 meetings with Palace across all competitions
- The most recent Premier League match, on May 13, 2026, ended 3-0 to City at the Etihad
- Phil Foden, Omar Marmoush, and Savinho scored in that most recent meeting
- Crystal Palace’s biggest recent result was their 2025 FA Cup final win over City at Wembley
