Wayne Rooney instantly reacts as Macclesfield knock Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup
Crystal Palace suffered one of the biggest FA Cup shocks in history on Saturday as they were defeated 2-1 by sixth-tier Macclesfield.
Macclesfield, led by Wayne Rooney’s younger brother, John, scored a goal in either half to hold on to a precious victory in the third round.
Palace, who have been on terrible form recently, simply did not have an answer.
While Yeremy Pino did manage to pull a goal back, it was too little, too late for the Eagles, as the holders went out of the competition.
Now, Rooney has quickly reacted to the result, praising his brother’s achievement.
Wayne Rooney: I am so proud of my brother
While Rooney’s managerial career failed to take off at Birmingham and Plymouth, his brother has only just started his journey in the dugout.
Taking over from Robbie Savage in the summer, he had a solid start to life in the dugout, going into the game.
However, his popularity has now reached new heights after overseeing a wonderful shock in the FA Cup.
Speaking to BBC One on 10 January after the match, Rooney was quick to heap praise on his brother for achieving what is one of the greatest shock ever in the FA Cup.
He said: “It’s incredible to see my younger brother achieve this, he has not long been the manager. I am so proud of him.”
Crystal Palace become the first holders since 1909 to be knocked out by a non-league side
In contrast, Palace have been humiliated.
After achieving such heavy heights in 2025, they have now perhaps received the most embarrassing defeat in their history.
As a result, numerous records have been broken, with Opta Joe confirming on 10 January that the Eagles are the first FA Cup holders since 1909 to be knocked out by a non-league side.
1909 – Macclesfield are the first non-league team to eliminate the FA Cup holders since Crystal Palace knocked out Wolves in the 1908-09 first round. Fairytale. pic.twitter.com/0Dyl5aMMaN
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 10, 2026
Ironically, it was Crystal Palace who last achieved this when they beat Wolves in the 1908-09 campaign.
Now, it remains to be seen if Glasner can turn Palace’s form around, with the pressure heating up on the manager.
If not, the Austrian coach could soon see himself given the boot, especially with his contract expiring.
Hopefully, the result will be the wakeup call the Eagles needed to finally return to winning ways.