Crystal Palace were playing their second FA Cup final, the previous occasion being in 1990, when they lost to Manchester United after a replay following a 3–3 draw in the first match.

The first half was goalless although Clattenburg was the subject of some controversy when he awarded Crystal Palace a free kick instead of playing advantage after Manchester United's Chris Smalling was adjudged to have fouled Connor Wickham.

After coming on as a second-half substitute, Jason Puncheon gave Crystal Palace the lead when he scored from close range past David de Gea in the Manchester United goal.

Jesse Lingard, who had been brought on to replace Mata close to the end of regular time, then shot from distance, sending the ball into the top corner of the Crystal Palace goal to give Manchester United a 2–1 victory, and their twelfth FA Cup.

The victory was Louis van Gaal's only trophy as Manchester United's manager and he was sacked two days after the final, to be replaced by José Mourinho.

[4] Crystal Palace's top scorer during the regular season was Dwight Gayle who had scored 7 goals in 11 appearances in all competitions, while three players – Yannick Bolasie, Yohan Cabaye and Connor Wickham – had 6 each.

Midway through the second half, Wilfried Zaha restored Crystal Palace's lead, scoring with a volley after the Southampton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg had kept out Puncheon's shot.

The visiting side had made eight changes to their team from their previous league match, prompting their manager Mark Hughes to say "We were a little bit stretched, we had a number of players unavailable.

"[10] In the fifth round, Crystal Palace were drawn against their third consecutive Premier League opposition, meeting Tottenham Hotspur on 21 February away at White Hart Lane.

With five minutes of the game remaining, Reading defender Jake Cooper was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, fouling Bolasie and conceding a penalty which was scored by Cabaye.

[12] On 24 April, Crystal Palace faced Watford at Wembley Stadium, a neutral venue, in a repeat of the 2013 Football League Championship play-off final.

Bolasie gave Crystal Palace an early lead when he headed the ball into the Watford goal after Damien Delaney flicked on a corner from Cabaye.

Substitute Memphis Depay was fouled in second-half stoppage time by Dean Hammond for a penalty kick, from which Rooney scored the only goal of the match.

Mata doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time with a direct free kick before Lingard confirmed a 3–0 win just after the hour mark, converting Ander Herrera's pass.

The visitors took the lead midway through the second half after Dimitri Payet's 30-yard (27 m) free kick beat David de Gea in the Manchester United goal.

After the interval, Timothy Fosu-Mensah fouled Everton's Ross Barkley, but de Gea saved Romelu Lukaku's subsequent penalty kick.

Three minutes into stoppage time, Herrera set up Martial who struck the ball past the Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles to secure a 2–1 win for Manchester United and progression to a record-breaking 19th FA Cup final.

[24][25][26] Ahead of kick-off, Tinie Tempah performed alongside The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Choir before the sides were presented to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

[29] Crystal Palace's manager Alan Pardew recalled six players to his starting eleven: Zaha, Hennessey, Scott Dann, Bolasie, Cabaye and Wickham returned while Puncheon and Gayle were listed as substitutes.

With twelve minutes of the first half remaining, Rashford made a run down the right wing and crossed the ball to Martial whose first-time shot was cleared by a diving Ward.

In the 52nd minute, Rashford flicked the ball to Fellaini whose shot from inside the Crystal Palace penalty area struck the crossbar with Hennessey stationary in the goal.

[30][33] Two minutes later, Cabaye's free kick from the right side of the pitch deflected off Smalling's head and found Jedinak whose shot went high over the Manchester United goal.

[34] Rashford then went down with a knee injury after being involved in a clash with Zaha: unable to play on, he was substituted for Ashley Young, while Crystal Palace made their first change of the afternoon with Puncheon coming on for Cabaye.

The ball was headed clear by Fellaini and fell to Ward whose high cross-field pass found Puncheon on the left-hand side of the Manchester United penalty area.

[35][36] With six minutes of regular time remaining, Crystal Palace made their second substitution with Wickham being replaced by Gayle, before Rooney was shown the yellow card for a late tackle on Ward.

Chris Waddle, summarising for the BBC, described Crystal Palace's tactics as having become "like a training ground exercise" while Alan Smith in The Guardian conjectured that both sides had settled to play out the rest of extra time and resolve the match in a penalty shootout.

Just before the extra time interval, Smalling was shown a second yellow card for his foul on Bolasie, becoming the fourth player in the history of the FA Cup to be sent off in the final.

[38][41] In the 110th minute, Manchester United took the lead: a low cross from Valencia was partly cleared by Delaney but Lingard struck the ball from around 18 yards (16 m) into the top corner of the Crystal Palace goal to make it 2–1.

After two minutes of stoppage time, and despite attempts to score from Zaha and Bolasie, the match ended in a 2–1 victory for Manchester United who secured their first FA Cup final win since 2004.

"[43] Crystal Palace defender Delaney was gracious in defeat, suggesting Manchester United had deserved their victory: "They were the better side on the day, we didn't do ourselves justice.