Triumph in the FA Cup

Manchester City v Manchester United from 4pm

Revenge for last year's 2-1 defeat in England's most important cup competition!

(Bild: AP/Associated Press)

A season that was a mess before Saturday has come to a successful end for Manchester United after all! The Red Devils beat Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final derby at London's sold-out Wembley Stadium to win the title for the 13th time. This also prevented the Citizens from winning a historic second double in a row. They also gained revenge for last year's 2-1 defeat in England's most important cup competition. 

The two 19-year-olds Alejandro Garnacho (30th/10th goal of the season) and Kobbie Mainoo (39th/5th goal of the season) were mainly responsible for this with a double strike in the first half. In addition, the underdogs defended skillfully and Erling Haaland and Co. lacked the necessary efficiency. It was Man United's first FA Cup triumph since 2016 and their first title win since winning the League Cup in 2023.

Erik ten Hag facing the end?
The club thus secured a European Cup starting place for next season at the last chance and will be in the group stage of the Europa League. Whether with or without coach Erik ten Hag remains to be seen. According to media rumors, the Dutchman is set to retire one year before his contract expires due to the club's eighth-place finish in the league. Man City missed out on their 21st trophy since 2008, when Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan from Abu Dhabi took over the club. Jeremy Doku's 87th-minute equalizer was ultimately not enough.

As expected, Man City had significantly more possession before the break with more than 70 percent, but struggled to create top chances, often missing the final pass, with top striker Haaland never really coming into his own. The underdogs played their part in this, stood very well defensively and also took the lead after half an hour thanks to half an own goal by the favorites.

Garnacho and Mainoo score
After a long pass from Diogo Dalot, defender Josko Gvardiol made a mistake and headed the ball over the rushing goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and straight into the path of Argentinian striker Garnacho, who only had to slot the ball in from six meters. Marcus Rashford also scored a little later, but the goal was rightly disallowed due to Garnacho being marginally offside (38'). The 2:0 was nevertheless scored immediately afterwards after a perfectly played counter-attack. After a Rashford interchange pass to Garnacho, the latter passed to the middle, where Bruno Fernandes passed the ball directly to Mainoo, who finished coolly.

Man City coach Josep Guardiola was visibly annoyed and tried to inject fresh impetus by bringing on Jeremy Doku at the break. The winger also brought a breath of fresh air and created two top chances. Phil Foden failed to hit the ball properly (54') and Haaland also struck the crossbar with his left foot (55'). Shortly afterwards, Andre Onana saved a Walker shot for a corner (59').

In an enormous phase of pressure, in which all 20 players were gathered in or around the Red Devils' penalty area, Julian Alvarez, who had come on as a substitute shortly beforehand, missed two "sitters" (61st, 64th). In the 75th minute, Ten Hag's team were lucky that a tackle between Mainoo and Haaland in the penalty area was not deemed a foul. As the normally bombproof Onana fluffed a Doku shot into the near corner, it was still a thrilling final phase in which the record champions held on for the win.

This means that no team in England has ever managed to win the league and FA Cup double twice in a row. United's triumph means Tottenham will have to play in the European Cup next season, while Chelsea can only try their hand in the Conference League.