Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City – FA Cup final Match Report
Manchester United have beaten Manchester City in the FA Cup at Wembley. The Red Devils went into the match as the underdogs following a poor season, but managed to come out victorious.
Erik ten Hag’s side ended Manchester City’s 35-match unbeaten run and also handed Pep Guardiola his first loss in the final of a domestic cup competition since moving to the Etihad.
Alejandro Garnacho got a golden chance to give Manchester United the lead in the 30th minute after Josko Gvardiol headed the ball over Stefan Ortega. The teenager had an open goal to slot the ball into and he made no mistake.
With the goal, the Manchester United star became the first Argentinian to score in the FA Cup final since Tottenham’s Ricardo Villa scored against Manchester City in 1981. He also becomes the first teenager to find the back of the net in the final since Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester United needed nine minutes to find their second and take a 2-0 lead in the match. This time, it was the other teenager in the starting XI – Kobiee Mainoo – finding the back of the net after a superb assist from Bruno Fernandes.
The midfielder also made history by becoming the first English teenager to score in the final since Steve MacKenzie in 1981. The goal was just the fifth conceded by Manchester City in the last two years!
Pep Guardiola was quick to make changes and brought on Manuel Akanji and Jerremy Doku for Nathan Ake and Mateo Kovacic at half time. The duo got Manchester City more possession in the match, but they had to struggle for the goal.
Erling Haaland, who was having a rather quiet game, hit the crossbar in the 55th minute. Kyle Walker called Andre Onana into action just after the hour mark with a stunning shot, but the Manchester United goalkeeper saved it.
Kevin de Buryne was then hooked for Julian Alvarez and the Argentine had the chance to pull one back. However, the World Cup winner was unable to score as his shot was well off target from a 1v1 situation.
Doku finally managed to breach the Manchester United defence in the 87th minute. He scored from outside the box to make it a thrilling finish.
However, it turned out to be a consolation as Manchester United held on for a 2-1 win.
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