One by one the heroes of the hour and the ones who carry the club deep in their heart walked out of Wembley and back into a world that, for them, will never quite be the same again.

The power of the FA Cup. Don’t doubt it. It exists and it endures.

Eberechi Eze – the scorer of a winning goal that lit a fire beneath this fabulous final – left the building with the match ball and a smile as wide as the Wembley arch.

And then there was the goalkeeper, the big on opinion and big on talent 28-year-old who probably should have been sent off but stuck around to save a penalty and guide his team to glory with a string of other saves.

Dean Henderson stood and told us he had seen all this coming.

Crystal Palace’s FA Cup final triumph was more than just a victory for the underdogs

The South London club finally secured their first major silverware on Saturday afternoon

Oliver Glasner never doubted his team could come out on top at Wembley, and they delivered

‘Remi Matthews [Palace reserve goalkeeper] actually said to me in my room this morning that I was gonna have a worldie and save a penalty,’ said Henderson.

‘I just said: “Yeah, I will”. And it came true.’

This is the thing about the FA Cup. It gives flight to stories like this, as fantastical as they sound or seem. It empowers footballers and it changes people and football clubs.

To be at Wembley on Saturday was once again a privilege. Palace supporters and those from Manchester at the other end of the stadium, brought a colour and vibrancy to this occasion that was life-affirming. The sun shone and then the football – in terms of its intrigue and storylines and drama – simply sparkled.

For City this will feel like one blow to the stomach too many after a fall-off-the-cliff season that nobody saw coming.

Their players walked out of Wembley towards their team bus like ghosts, stunned by an opponent that simply came up with something better in this final for the second time running. Those who stopped to talk – players like Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva – did so in a manner that resembled an unburdening, a purging of souls heavy with the regret and guilt and sorrow that comes with sporting failure and underachievement.

That City bus, meanwhile, carries pictures of trophies previously won down the side of it. Under Pep Guardiola they have claimed the lot and thrilled us along the way.

Those who now question the great man’s style and philosophy must have short memories. Some of the commentary around City’s travails continues to be staggeringly stupid.

It indicated a shift in English football where the ‘smaller’ clubs can challenge the big teams

Pep Guardiola has made City almost unbeatable in recent years, but they have lost their spark this season

But the truth is City are empty-handed this season. They haven’t experienced this since Guardiola’s first season in 2016-17 and the rebuild that stands before him now is significant.

On Tuesday, meanwhile, his team host Bournemouth in the Premier League with qualification for next season’s Champions League not yet assured. That is the kind of sentence that needs reading twice.

This was a day for winners, though. Of course it was. As his club’s players headed out towards the frivolity of nearby Box Park – it didn’t look like it was quiet one – chairman Steve Parish stood with his eight-year-old son by his side and said – quite rightly – that this victory should stand not just as a blow for South London and Palace but also as a siren call for clubs of similar standing. An example has been set. Glory is not just for the really big clubs. It’s there for everybody if only you have the courage and the gumption to reach for it. The FA Cup need not be an inconvenience. It can be a gateway.

‘I really do think we have set an example,’ Parrish said.

‘The teams that we’ve knocked out will be thinking: “That could have been us”.

‘I totally think that. It’s great for the FA Cup.

‘Even the Man City people, in the cold reflection, will probably say it’s great for football, it’s great for the FA Cup.

‘I do think clubs will think: “Crystal Palace did it. We can do it”.’

‘I honestly thought we were going to win. I’ve been saying it all week.

More challenges will come Palace’s way but they sent a clear message at Wembley Stadium

‘At the beginning of the game when we were penned in, I thought we would get our chances. ‘Oliver [Glasner] had said we would score maybe two goals. And I trust him.’

The confidence of Palace manager Glasner came from a game the two teams played at the Etihad in the Premier League last month. City won 5-2 but only after Palace had scored the first two goals of the game.

Glasner had joked afterwards that City would not be able to play that way against Palace again, the insinuation being – only half in jest – that he had now Guardiola’s number.

There may have been something in that. Palace needed a number of things to go their way in order to prevail at Wembley and to a degree the dice did fall in their favour. Henderson, for example, could have been sent off before he even had his chance to make his penalty save. Then – when City did win their spot-kick – the wrong man – rather inexplicably – took it.

Even so, this result does play to a feeling that there has been a slight levelling up in English football this season. Newcastle have won the Carabao Cup. Nottingham Forest have been pushing for the Champions League. Teams like Palace and Bournemouth and Brentford and Brighton no longer approach meetings with the elite sides with the same sense of resignation they once did.

Here on Saturday all of this was played out in technicolour. The neutrals among us marvelled at Palace’s victory but at the same time nobody was really surprised by it.

Wimbledon rocked the establishment by beating Liverpool in 1988. Wigan beat City and hustled Roberto Mancini off his perch in doing so in 2013. They felt like seismic upsets. Wigan were relegated that year and are yet to return to the Premier League.

Newcastle ended their 70-year wait for domestic silverware when they won the Carabao Cup in March

Nuno Espirito Santo has also got Nottingham Forest into Champions League contention

This did not feel like that. Yes, this was a win for the underdog. But it was one that anybody who has watched these teams play in recent weeks could possibly have seen coming.

Reality will bite at some stage for Palace. Interest in their likeable and talented manager will be intense this summer. Parish says he will stay but, ultimately, it may not be up to him. Thursday night Europa League football will provide a challenge next season also.

But these are the challenges that come when you poke your nose out from the crowd and sniff the rarified air that comes with achievement. This is Palace’s world now.

They are no longer one of London’s ‘other clubs’. They are Palace, FA Cup winners 2025. It should feel special and that’s because it still is very special. Despite what some may try to tell us.