Football Football – FA Cup Final – Manchester City v Manchester United – Wembley Stadium, London, England – June 3, 2023 Manchester City players celebrate with the trophy after winning the FA Cup REUTERS/Carl Recine
LONDON – Manchester City are on track to just one win after completing a crucial treble as they deservedly beat great rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup final thanks to Ilkay Gundogan’s record-breaking brace on Saturday. .
City captain Gundogan scored the fastest goal in FA Cup final history with a stunning volley after 12 seconds and the winning goal seven minutes into the break.
That way, the 32-year-old, who is expected to leave Man City in the summer after seven title-laden years, has become the oldest player to score a brace in an FA Cup final since Nat Lofthouse. Bolton Wanderers in 1958, also against United.
United, trying to win both domestic cups in the same season for the first time in history and ruining Man City’s hopes of scoring their own historic 1999 treble, leveled a penalty in the 33rd minute of Bruno Fernandes.
Pep Guardiola’s side have resisted some late United pressure to win the trophy for a seventh time.
This is the 13th time the team has won the double of the English league and FA Cup. But City now want more and travel to Istanbul to face Inter Milan looking to win their first European title and equalize their 1998-99 Premier League/FA Cup/Champions League record. of United under Alex Ferguson.
“Now we can talk about the treble,” said Guardiola, who has won 11 trophies since arriving at City in 2016.
“Of course, we still have to win the Champions League. We did a great job for the city and our fans. It is very important to us today. The FA Cup is great.”
Bragging rights
For the first time in 190 meetings, the clubs clashed over silver trophies, not just bragging rights, and Wembley was decked out in red and blue as fans defied the strike. by rail to spill down to the capital.
The smoke from the pre-match fireworks hadn’t even cleared as City took a spectacular lead.
Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega had a long slot in Erling Haaland’s direction and when the ball reached Gundogan’s pass, who didn’t hesitate to volley with his right foot past the thwarted David de Gea.
He said: “The ball was placed amazingly for me and I had to hit it. “Obviously it was a pretty good attack and it went into the net and it was fantastic.”
It eclipsed the fastest goal in the previous FA Cup final scored by Louis Saha after 25 seconds for Everton against Chelsea in 2009 and City threatened to stage a riot against a stunned United.
Rodri and Jack Grealish both failed to convert into good chances for the first five minutes as United barely touched the ball while Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne also closed in on City before United were handed a surprise gift.
United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka headed a harmless diagonal cross in the area and as play continued, referee Paul Tierney was instructed to check the side VAR monitor for the possibility of Grealish using ball player.
It was extremely rough on Grealish, but Tierney pointed to the right spot and Fernandes calmly moved to push Ortega the wrong way with his penalty and spark celebration at the east end of the stadium. stadium, where United fans were packed.
United caught a glimpse of City’s game and Raphael Varane volleyed from the corner as halftime approached.
But it proved to be an illusion. City needed a little longer in the second half to re-establish their advantage and once again, Gundogan showed a knack for scoring important goals.
This time, he was picked after De Bruyne’s failed pass and his left-footed volley, not done anywhere near as perfectly as his previous attempt, bouncing over a crowded area and crept inside De Gea’s right post.
Gundogan was denied a hat-trick by an offside flag and as the minutes passed, City seemed annoyed with United’s substitute, Alejandro Garnacho, firing a tight shot and a challenge. The crazy handicap in the goal in injury time ended with the ball hitting the crossbar of Man City.
As for United, they can console themselves with the League Cup trophy in manager Erik Ten Hag’s encouraging first season and hope Inter can stop City next Saturday.
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