Manchester City vs. Manchester United F.A. Cup Final Recap

Manchester City keep the treble hopes alive after beating cross-town rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the F.A. Cup final. The game was off to a flier when Ilkay Gundogen put City 1-0 after 12 seconds with a smashing volley from outside the box which left De Gea rooted to the spot.

(Image via Premier League)

United couldn’t get a touch on the ball in the first 30 minutes until Aaron Wan-Bissaka headed the ball off of Jack Grealish’s hand in the box to award the Red Devils a way back into the game. Bruno Fernandes slotted home the penalty and United were fortunate to go into half-time level.

The second half was the same old story. City walked all over United handling the majority of the possession. Kevin De Bruyne floated the ball to the edge of the box and Gundogen miss-hit the volley but fortunately for him it crept into the bottom corner to put City ahead again. United looked nonchalant the whole game and despite going behind twice in the biggest game of their season, the Red Devils let City dictate play. United looked lifeless until young winger Alexandro Garnacho came into the game and sparked some life into the red side but it was too little too late.

When Wout Weghorst and Scott McTominay came on for United it was clear that City would see out this game with no issues. Once again, squad depth was an issue for United as they did not have any game changers on their weak bench.

After the match, reports poured out that all six members of the Glazer family will stay in charge of United along with Sir Jim Ratcliffe instead of a full Qatar take-over. The Glazer family has bled the club dry for the past 17 years leaving United in a pile of debt. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has barely enough money to buy the club let alone actually rebuild it when he owns it. All in all, a bad day to be a Manchester United fan.

Erling Haaland was very quiet the entire game but Gundogen stepped up as the goal-scorer today and won Manchester City the game. Pep Guardiola has now won two F.A. Cup trophies during his time with the Blues and will be looking to add a Champions League to his already very impressive CV next weekend.