Manchester City 1 Manchester United 2: A stunning team goal and Ten Hag go on to win the FA Cup

Manchester United tore the script to shreds as first-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo saw off rivals Manchester City to win the FA Cup.

In what could turn out to be Erik ten Hag’s last game as United manager, with the club looking for potential replacements should they opt to part ways with the Dutchman after two years, his side achieved perhaps the best performance of the season to end a tough slump. 2023-24 at a trophy-winning peak.

Pep Guardiola’s newly crowned four-time Premier League champions piled on the pressure in the second half and halved the deficit through substitute Jeremy Doku, but United held on to win the FA Cup for the 13th time.

Carl Anka, Mark Critchley, Dan Sheldon and Sam Lee break up a dramatic afternoon at Wembley.

How Erik ten Hag corrected his tactical approach

As dark clouds swirled over job security, Erik ten Hag was bold in his tactical choice.

The 4-2-2-2 formation that saw Manchester United through victories over Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion in the last two league games of the season was used again at Wembley. Lisandro Martinez was paired with Raphael Varane in central defense for the first time since the 4-3 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 1 February.

Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were preferred on the wings, while Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes worked up front as split strikers. The United manager’s game plan seemed to be one of control and then Manchester City’s counter-attack. twtwo minutes into the match things seemed to be working; United’s out-of-possession shape was more compact and resilient. The “big gap” that opposition analysts talked about it was a thing of the past.

When United lost the ball, they counter-pressed for five seconds in an effort to win it back before retreating into their shell. Ten Hag’s men felt comfortable in the direction of City’s attacks, confident that their centre-backs could clear any Erling Haaland crosses. When United regained possession, they would quickly move to break.

Ten Hag won his second trophy as United manager in what could be his last game in the job (Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)

If there was a problem, it became apparent when Kyle Walker once again beat Rashford in a race. United’s attempts to get in behind City met with limited success. Every time they found a chink in the armor of Pep Guardiola’s side, the Premier League champions made an adjustment.

Then it happened.

A lovely long pass from Diogo Dalot and Garnacho tracked down United’s right. The 19-year-old lost his sprint to Josko Gvardiol, but the City defender headed his header back past advancing goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. Garnacho took the chance to poke the ball home to give United the lead on the half-hour mark.

“They are very good at counter-pressing, but you can still find spaces and dominate the game,” Dalot said before the final.

United made good on their words with their second goal nine minutes later. A brief period of established possession saw the ball again worked to Garnacho on the right who teamed up with Fernandes and got a clever ball to Kobbie Mainoo at the back post to make it 2-0.

Amid difficult circumstances, Ten Hag seemed to have got it right. Guardiola’s introductions of Jeremy Doku and then Julian Alvarez tried to stretch United’s compact form, but they managed to survive despite the former’s consolation goal.

Carl Anka

Mainoo’s goal: the anatomy of a cup final classic

If history remembers this as Ten Hag’s last game in charge, at least United went on to score one of the best goals of his two-season tenure: one that was emblematic of what he was trying to achieve .

This was Exhibition 1A in the way the United manager wants his players to attack: with intensity as they initially break away, but then with composure to finish in the box. This may sound contradictory. He often has SEEN contradictory, and sometimes totally unsustainable, this season. But when it works, it’s thrilling.

The move started as it ended, with Kobbie Mainoo making a simple pass to Marcus Rashford in space on the left flank, halfway inside his own half.

Playing a cross down the pitch from that position was ambitious, and the ball may not have had enough pace to really expose City’s extremely high line, but Rashford’s thinking was still quick enough to kick them out back.

However, it was the speed and ingenuity of thinking up close and inside the penalty area that stood out – something United have sorely lacked this season. Alejandro Garnacho first slowed down the move, allowing Bruno Fernandes to glimpse Mainoo’s forward position, then sped it up.

Fernandes’ immaculate license brought echoes of Teddy Sheringham at Wembley – not only for England against Holland at Euro 96, but more relevantly in a United shirt in the 1999 FA Cup final to set up Paul Scholes to score his second decisive against Newcastle. United. There was only one difference. Sheringham was pointing in the right direction.

And that it should be Mainoo to apply the finish from the first touch, with all the sangfroid we’ve come to expect from the teenage United Academy graduate in his breakout season, was fitting – and not just because he started movement first.

Whatever United’s future holds, Mainoo will be part of it – and that’s how he should direct, devastating football like this.

Mark Critchley

How United exploited City’s high line

From the first exchanges, it was clear that Manchester United would not try to dominate the match.

Erik ten Hag was content to let Manchester City have the ball but wanted his players ready to exploit the opposition’s high line at every opportunity. The Dutchman wanted to use the pace of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho to get in behind the City defence.

And it worked, time and time again.

Although Garnacho’s opening goal came from an almighty mix-up at back between Josko Gvardiol and Stefan Ortega, it wIt wouldn’t have materialized if it wasn’t for the Argentine running in behind and forcing the foul.

Alejandro Garnacho shoots into the empty net to open the scoring (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

United continued to hang in front of City and reaped rewards again with another quick transition. This time Rashford passed out wide in front of Garnacho who had acres of space. He then squared Bruno Fernandes, who laid the ball off to Kobbie Mainoo to double their lead.

It was an exceptional team goal and one that would have made Ten Hag lick his lips. This was his game plan playing out in the most devastating of ways.

Although Rashford consistently struggled to outplay Kyle Walker, arguably the fastest right-back in football, Garnacho continued to beat Guardiol.

Even in the second half, where City dominated possession, United still looked a threat on the counter-attack and it was something Pep Guardiola was more than aware of.

Dan Sheldon

What went wrong for City?

“In football, you’re going to lose games,” Pep Guardiola said last weekend after seeing his side lift the Premier League title once again. “You have to choose how you lose games. That’s what defines the best teams.”

Manchester City certainly fell apart in the second half and got a goal back to set up a tense final that saved a lot of face after an uncharacteristic first 45 minutes.

Had Julian Alvarez let go of a huge chance amid an attack with around 30 minutes to go, it could have turned in City’s favor much sooner, but in the end it wasn’t enough to salvage a desperately disappointing first half performance from the champions. .

City missed out on adding the FA Cup to their Premier League title (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

City would have been pleased that their patient probed up front before the break, and that’s good when you keep the back door shut, but the shuffle for the opening goal seemed to rattle them – they seemed to rush things, conceding goals that United took advantage with their brilliant second.

Guardiola didn’t mess around with his changes, making two of them at half-time, including the introduction of Jeremy Doku, who brought danger long before his late goal, and then the ineffective Kevin De Bruyne was brought off just 11 minutes later .

The second 45 minutes were much more like the kind of performance we’ve come to expect from City, but the first half rattled them and ultimately they couldn’t recover.

Sam Lee

What did Pep Guardiola say?

“It can happen,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola told BBC Sport when discussing Stefan Ortega’s error that led to the opening goal of the 2-1 FA Cup final defeat against neighbors United. “Anything can happen in a final. Many things, decisions, so many things happen and at the end (of the day), they scored two goals and we couldn’t score more.

“They are a transition team; always, Unite, from 10, 20, 30 years; they have always been a transitional team. In the first half, we struggled a little bit and (in) the second half, we were better until we found the moment (to get a goal back).

“We scored a bit late with the chances we had with Erling (Haaland) and Jules (Julian Alvarez) and Jeremy’s (Doku) actions, especially on the left side, overall it was a good performance considering seeing that it was a final.”

What did Erik ten Hag say?

“All compliments to the team,” Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag told BBC Sport. “They played very well, for our identity, very strong. You see that (when) we have players on board, how we can play, in our philosophy.

“I’ve been telling you this all year: when the players are fit, we can play good football. (It was) a very good performance, against the best team in the world, I think.”

Ten Hag also addressed criticism of himself and his squad this season, saying: “We didn’t have the players. We (he and the critics) saw the same things. It wasn’t always good football, certainly not, but we had to make compromises all the time. Then you can’t play the football you want to play.

“I’ve been here two years now and probably (only) three, four times I’ve had the full team on board. Also today some massive players, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Casemiro, were not on board.”

Ten Hag says if this was his last game as United manager: “I don’t know but the only thing I do is prepare my team, develop my team, (try to) progress my team and individual players because this, to me, is a project. When I came in, I can say it was a mess. Now we are better, but we are nowhere near where we want to be.”

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(Top photo: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)