- Manchester United won the FA Cup final on Saturday after beating rivals Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley Stadium
- The victory was a sweet revenge for United who lost last year’s final to the same opponent
Manchester United won the FA Cup final on Saturday after beating rivals Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.
Teenagers Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scored two quick goals in the first half to set United on their way to a memorable victory. Garnacho, who is 19, opened the scoring in the 30th minute after miscommunication between Josko Gvardiol and Stefan Ortega left him with the ball to simply tap home.
Mainoo then increased United’s lead to 2-0 in the 39th minute to draw United closer to the title. Despite City applying so much pressure, substitute Jeremy Doku’s strike in the 87th minute was the only goal they pulled back.
Whereas the win gave United their first FA Cup since 2015/16 season, City missed out the opportunity to become the first English team to complete a domestic double in two consecutive seasons.
Manchester United won the FA Cup final on Saturday. Photo/ TEAMtalk.
The victory was a sweet revenge for United who lost last year’s final to the same opponent at Wembley. Having finished eighth in the Premier League, the win saw Erik ten Hag‘s side earn a spot in next season’s UEFA Europa League at the expense of Chelsea who will now play in Europa Conference League.
Manchester United ended City’s 35-match unbeaten run as ten Hag became the first manager to beat Pep Guardiola in a domestic cup final.
How Man Utd Won The FA Cup Final
Manchester United have had several young players impress this season, and it was not a surprise to see ten Hag include two teenagers in the starting XI. United are the first side since 2004 to start a FA Cup final match with at least two teenagers on the pitch since Millwall in 2004 against them, as per Premier League.
On the other hand, Manchester City made three changes from the team that beat West Ham United to win the Premier League title on the final day of the season, with Doku, Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias being replaced by Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Nathan Ake.
City having recently been crowned Premier League champions and considering United have had a disappointing campaign, many predicted an easy win for Guardiola’s side. However, it was the Red Devils who created the first big chance of the day, with Garnacho firing a shot that was saved by Stefan Ortega.
City looked disjointed early on at Wembley but eventually got into the game and started controlling the proceedings. Surprisingly, it was United who went in front after 30 minutes of play when a mix-up between Ortega and Gvardiol saw the latter’s header provide Garnacho with a gift to simply tap home.
With many expecting City to level the scores, it was ten Hag’s side who actually doubled their lead through a counter-attack. A brilliant long ball to the right found Garnacho who passed the ball to Bruno and the captain laid the ball to Mainoo who calmly converted.
Kobbie Mainoo scored Manchester United’s second goal against Manchester City. Photo/ Manchester Evening News.
Trailing 2-0 at the break, Guardiola made two changes at the break, replacing Ake with Manuel Akanji and Doku taking Mateo Kovacic’s place. City’s substitution almost had an immediate impact as Doku found Erling Haaland in the box but the Norwegian struck the woodwork.
City camped in United’s half of the pitch and made several attempts but Andre Onana was firm in United’s goal. After Kyle Walker was denied from long range, Julian Alvarez who replaced Kevin De Bruyne in the 56th minute missed a golden chance when one-on-one with the goalie.
Manchester City eventually pulled one goal back in the 87th minute, thanks to Doku’s strike from the edge of the box. However, United held on to secure a memorable victory in the FA Cup final which could have saved ten Hag’s job.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login