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Premier League giants fall to non-leaguers in greatest ever FA Cup upset
Jaiden Sciberras • January 11th, 2026 5:27 pm
The FA Cup has once again played host to one of history's most magical upsets, with sixth division Macclesfield defeating Premier League mainstays and cup holders Crystal Palace 2-1.
Macclesfield, who currently play league football in the National League North - the sixth highest tier across England - hosted Crystal Palace in a third round matchup that marked the Premier League side's return to the cup following last season's triumph.
In 2024/25, Crystal Palace took out the tournament in stellar fashion, downing Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium to pick up their first ever major trophy.
However this time around, Palace's run would end at the first time of asking in what may be the most unexpected result in recent history.
Despite rotating the side, Palace manager Oliver Glasner opted to start five regular first-team members to face Macclesfield, including captain Marc Guehi and star midfielder Adam Wharton.
Macclesfield, who currently sit 14th in the sixth tier after being promoted from the seventh tier last season, would stun the cup holders, taking the advantage in the 43rd minute through captain Paul Dawson. A brilliantly taken set-piece, winger Luke Duffy's free-kick found the head of Dawson, picking out the bottom corner to open the scoring in Cheshire.
Leading at the main break, Macclesfield would go on to double their lead 15 minutes into the second half, with Isaac Buckley-Ricketts capitalising on a calamity of Palace errors.
A floated header deep into Palace's box pinballed within the area before falling to the edge of the box, where a deflected strike fell in the path of Buckley-Ricketts to guide home for Macclesfield's second.
Yeremi Pino's 90th minute free-kick proved nothing but a consolation for the cup holders, as Palace fell 2-1 in what has been touted as the greatest upset in the history of the FA Cup.
With Palace currently sitting 13th in the Premier League, there are currently 117 teams making up the places between Palace and Macclesfield, making this result the largest upset in the cup's history and one of the biggest in football.
The historic result also marks the first time a non-league side has knocked out the FA Cup holders since 1909!
This comes just a month after Macclesfield suffered the loss of forward Ethan McLeod, who tragically passed away in a car accident at just 21 years of age.
"I was thinking about it while the final whistle went," goalscorer Buckley-Ricketts said in an emotional post-game presser.
"I was thinking... Ethan was here!"
Macclesfield will now advance to the fourth round as the final standing non-league side remaining in the tournament.
