Manchester Utd v Crystal Palace

Born beneath a glass roof in 1905, Crystal Palace arrived into a Football League already shaped by the club from Manchester.

Crystal Palace Football Club was formed on 10 September 1905 at the Crystal Palace exhibition building in Sydenham, south London. The club took its name from the famous glass structure. Manchester United, then known as Newton Heath until 1902, were already well established in the Football League. The two clubs would not meet competitively for some years, but the seeds of a fixture spanning more than a century were planted.

Old Trafford threw open its doors in 1910 with room for 80,000 souls; Crystal Palace were not even in the Football League.

Manchester United moved into Old Trafford on 19 February 1910, with a capacity of around 80,000. The ground would become one of the most recognisable football venues in the world. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, were competing in the Southern League and would not join the Football League until 1920. The two clubs occupied very different tiers of the English game.

Upstarts from south London versus the European Cup holders; the gap in stature set the tone from the very first meeting.

Crystal Palace won promotion to the First Division in 1969 under Bert Head, bringing regular league meetings with Manchester United for the first time. The fixture quickly gained an edge. Palace were the upstarts from south London; United were European Cup holders. That contrast in stature has defined the dynamic ever since.

A substitute, Ian Wright scored twice; Mark Hughes equalised twice. Three-all, and neither side deserved to lose.

The 1990 FA Cup Final at Wembley is the defining chapter in this fixture's history. Crystal Palace, managed by Steve Coppell (a former United player), drew 3-3 with Manchester United in a breathtaking match. Ian Wright, a substitute, scored twice for Palace. Mark Hughes equalised late to force extra time, where he scored again. The replay five days later was a more subdued affair: United won 1-0 through a Lee Martin goal, saving Alex Ferguson's job in the process.

Ferguson's United claimed the very first Premier League title; for Palace, simply reaching Old Trafford was the season's prize.

The formation of the Premier League in 1992 transformed English football. Manchester United, under Ferguson, became the dominant force, winning the inaugural title in 1992-93. Crystal Palace's relationship with the top flight was more turbulent, with relegations in 1993, 1995, and 1998 meaning the fixture disappeared for long stretches. When Palace were in the division, though, trips to Old Trafford remained a highlight of their calendar.

Ferguson paid £15 million for Zaha after watching him torment United's defence in the 2010-11 League Cup.

In the 2010-11 League Cup quarter-final, a young Wilfried Zaha tormented United's defence at Old Trafford. Palace lost 2-1, but Zaha's performance was so impressive that Ferguson signed him in January 2013 for around £15 million. The move did not work out for Zaha at United, and he returned to Palace, where he became the club's talisman and a constant threat in this fixture for years to come.

Palace's return in 2013 began their longest unbroken spell in the top flight; they have not looked back since.

Crystal Palace won promotion via the Championship play-offs in 2013, returning to the top flight and restoring the fixture to the Premier League calendar. They have remained there ever since, the longest unbroken spell in the top division in the club's history. Regular meetings with United at Old Trafford became a fixture again, and Palace proved far more competitive than their earlier Premier League incarnations.

Lingard's extra-time volley settled a 26-year-old score; Pardew's dance settled nothing.

Twenty-six years after their epic 1990 encounter, Manchester United and Crystal Palace met again in the FA Cup Final at Wembley. Jason Puncheon gave Palace the lead, but Juan Mata equalised. With the score at 1-1 after 90 minutes, Jesse Lingard struck a spectacular volley in extra time to win the cup for United. Alan Pardew's pre-match touchline dance became an enduring image, though not the one Palace fans would have chosen.

Palace won 3-1 at Old Trafford, and not a single travelling supporter was there to see it.

On the opening day of the 2020-21 Premier League season, Crystal Palace stunned Manchester United 3-1 at Old Trafford. Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha scored in a dominant Palace display. The match was played behind closed doors due to the pandemic, robbing the travelling Palace fans of one of their finest hours at the Theatre of Dreams. It was a stark reminder that this fixture, for all United's historical dominance, can still produce surprises.

A century of FA Cup rivalry, and both sides still searching for their best selves.

Both clubs find themselves in periods of rebuilding. Manchester United, under new ownership structures following the Ratcliffe investment, continue to chase a return to the elite. Crystal Palace, under Oliver Glasner, have established themselves as a resilient Premier League outfit with ambitions of their own. Old Trafford remains one of the great stages in English football, and when Palace visit, the history of two FA Cup Finals and over a century of competition adds a layer that few fixtures can match.