Manchester United did the unthinkable and stunned their biggest rival Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final on Saturday to end a tumultuous season on a high note.
Guardiola had won four Premier League titles in-a-row and was looking for a second straight FA Cup, however a feisty, scrappy and determined Red Devils side pulled off the biggest shock in the final in over a decade.
City were dominating the pace of the game and the chances in the opening half hour. Everything changed, however, when an error more commonly seen on youth soccer fields gave Erik ten Hag’s sign a bigger gift than Christmas morning.
In the 30th minute a ball over the top toward Alejandro Garnacho soared toward the City penalty area. City stud Josko Gvardiol looked to have dealt with the problem and provided a header back toward his goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
There was just one problem. Ortega wasn’t in the penalty box.
Garnacho goal vs Man City
MANCHESTER CITY GET IT HORRIBLY WRONG AT THE BACK AND GARNACHO GIVES UNITED THE 1-0 LEAD IN THE FA CUP FINAL pic.twitter.com/I1PCvFNw35
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 25, 2024
United’s 19-year-old Argentine punished City for their gaff and the complexion of the game changed entirely. Ten Hag’s side were suddenly injected with a wave of confidence and less than 10 minutes later they struck again with a beautiful team goal finished off by another teenager, Kobbie Mainoo.
19-YEAR-OLD KOBBIE MAINOO MAKES IT 2-0 FOR MAN UNITED IN THE FA CUP FINAL!
WHAT A START FOR UNITED IN WHAT COULD BE ERIK TEN HAG'S LAST MATCH AS MANAGER pic.twitter.com/UFLrCmLnOt— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 25, 2024
The underdogs, who finished eighth in the league after a dreadful season, had the champions on the ropes.
In the second half City appeared out of ideas and were continually frustrated by the United defense with several key saves from Andre Onana. It proved to be just one of those days for City as not even Erling Haaland could find the back of the net as he rattled the crossbar in the 55th minute.
Erling Haaland's shot crashes against the crossbar #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/lGX7lv0AyU
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) May 25, 2024
It’s never a good sign for City when a player like Kevin de Bruyne is getting substituted out the game in the 56th minute.
It wouldn’t have been a true game involving Manchester United if there wasn’t some sort of error. That moment came in the 87th minute when Onana made a mess of Jeremy Doku's effort and ended up pushing the ball into his own net.
MAN CITY PULL ONE BACK!!!
DOKU FROM DISTANCE AND ONANA LET IT SLIP BEHIND HIMMAN UNITED 2-1 MAN CITY pic.twitter.com/wmpfUKMfYu
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 25, 2024
With seven minutes of stoppage time added on City had 10 minutes to find an equalizer but ultimately fell short. United’s defense held Guardiola’s side to just four shots on target all game.
What a result for Manchester United as they lift their first FA Cup since 2016.
THE TROPHY LIFT
— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) May 25, 2024
2020 – Finishing 8th this season, Manchester United are the lowest ranked team to win the #FACup since Arsenal under Mikel Arteta in 2019-20 (also 8th). Process. pic.twitter.com/dNhiojauQD
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 25, 2024
Ten Hag will be parting ways with the club and ended his tenure on a high note. He added quite the final touch to his resume.
The victory also secures European play next season as United will compete in the Europa League. This impacts other teams as now Chelsea will drop down to play in the Conference League next season and Newcastle won’t get European games.
