Manchester United defied the odds by beating rivals Manchester City to win the FA Cup with first-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Coby Mainu.
In what could potentially be Erik ten Hag’s final game as United manager, with the club searching for a potential replacement if they were to part ways with the Dutchman, the team produced arguably their best performance of the season and ended a trying 2023-24 campaign in the best possible way – with a trophy.
Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions piled on the pressure in the second half, with substitute Jeremy Doku reducing the deficit late on, but United hung in there to win the FA Cup for the club’s 13th time in history.
Karl Anka, Mark Critchley, Dan Sheldon and Sam Lee analyse a dramatic afternoon at Wembley.
How Erik ten Hag got his tactical approach right
With clouds hanging over the manager’s job security, manager Erik ten Hag made a bold tactical choice. The 4-2-2-2 formation used in Manchester United’s wins over Newcastle United and Brighton was used again at Wembley Stadium. Lisandro Martinez was paired with Raphael Varane for the first time since the 4-3 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 1.
Marcus Rashford and Garnacho were deployed on the flanks, with Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes playing up front as a split striker. The United manager’s game plan at Wembley was to contain Manchester City and counter-attack. After the first 20 minutes, things looked good. United’s shape when they lost the ball was more compact and tenacious. “Big gaps” as opposition analyst put it That is now a thing of the past.
Whenever United lost the ball, they would counter-press for five seconds, trying to win it back before trying to win it back again. Ten Hag’s team did a good job of directing City’s attacks down the flanks, confident that their centre-back pairing would be able to prevent any crosses for Erling Haaland. Whenever United won the ball back, they moved quickly to break through.
Erik ten Hag wins his second trophy as Manchester United manager (Neil Simpson/SportsPhoto/All Star via Getty Images)
If there were any problems, they were evident when Kyle Walker again got behind Rashford. United’s attempts to get in behind City’s back four were not very successful, with the Premier League champions making adjustments every time they found a gap in Pep Guardiola’s team’s defence.
And then it happened. Diogo Dalot delivered a fantastic long pass that Garnacho chased down the right wing. The 19-year-old got beaten in a sprint by Josko Gvardiol, but the City defender managed to get his header past goalkeeper Stephan Ortega. Garnacho seized the opportunity and smashed the ball into the goal to give United the lead after the 30th minute.
“They’re very good at counter-pressing, but we can still find space and control the game,” Dalot said before the final, and United were true to his word with their second goal. After a short period of steadiness the ball again fell to Garnacho on the right, who linked up with Fernández to feed a clever pass to Koby Mainou at the back post to make it 2-0.
Ten Hag appeared to have made the right decision in difficult circumstances as Pep Guardiola brought on Jeremy Doku and Julián Alvarez in an attempt to stretch out United’s compact line, but they held on despite Doku scoring a late consolation goal.
Karl Anka
Mainu’s goal: An anatomy of a great cup final
If history remembers this as ten Hag’s final game as manager, at least United finished it with one of the greatest goals of his tenure, a goal that symbolised what he set out to achieve.
It was a great example of how the United manager has shown his players to attack by breaking out hard at first and then finishing calmly inside the penalty area.
That may sound contradictory — and it has often seemed that way this season, and downright unsustainable at times — but when it works, it’s impressive.
The move began with a simple pass from Mainou to Rashford in space on the left wing in the centre of his own half.
It was an ambitious cross-field pass from that position and the speed of the ball may not have been enough to really expose City’s very high line, but Rashford’s thinking was quick enough to put them on the back foot.
But what stood out was the speed and cleverness of his approach to and inside the penalty area, something that has been sorely lacking at United this season. Garnacho first slowed his movement to allow Fernandes a chance to catch a glimpse of Mainot’s advancing position, before speeding up.
Fernandes’ perfect pass was reminiscent of Teddy Sheringham’s at this ground – not only against Holland at Euro 96, but, more importantly, his pass to Paul Scholes in the 1999 FA Cup final – with one difference: Sheringham was facing the right way.
And for Stopford-born Mainu to finish with his first touch was a fitting choice, not just because he was the first to make the move, but with the composure we expect from him.
Whatever the future holds for United, he will be part of it and that’s why he should be leading such destructive football.
Mark Critchley
How United made the most of City’s High Line
From the very start of the game, it was clear that Manchester United were not looking to dominate the game.
Ten Hag was happy to let Manchester City have the ball but wanted his players to be ready to attack the opposition’s high line at any time, and the Dutchman wanted to use the speed of Rashford and Garnacho to make runs in behind the City defence.
And it has been successful many times.
Garnacho’s opening goal came from a mistake on the wing,The conflict between Gvaldiol and OrtegaThe goal would never have happened had the Argentine player not run in from behind and forced a mistake.
Alejandro Garnacho scores the opening goal with a shot into the empty net (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
United continued to deny City and were rewarded with another quick switch, this time Rashford feeding Garnacho in wide space, who then passed to Bruno Fernandes, who fed Coby Mainou to double their lead.
It was a brilliant team goal, one that Ten Hag would have drooled over, and it was his gameplan executed in the most devastating way possible.
Rashford struggled to consistently beat Kyle Walker, arguably the quickest right-back in the game, but Garnacho continued to beat Gvardiol.
Even in the second half, when City dominated possession, United remained a threat on the counter-attack and Guardiola was well aware of this.
Dan Sheldon
What did City do wrong?
“In football you can lose games,” manager Pep Guardiola said last weekend as his team claimed another Premier League title. “You have to choose how you lose games. That’s what determines the best team.”
City came on the offensive in the second half, keeping the game on edge and saving face after an uncharacteristic first 45 minutes.
The tide might have turned in City’s favour sooner if Julian Alvarez had converted a chance during a fierce attack with around 30 minutes to go, but in the end it wasn’t enough to make up for a terribly disappointing first half.
In addition to the Premier League title, City also missed out on the FA Cup (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
City will have been pleased with their patient attack up front before the break and a solid defense would have been fine, but the confusion surrounding the first goal appears to have unsettled them: they rushed things too much and exploited an opening which allowed United to score a magnificent second goal.
Guardiola was quick to make substitutions, bringing on two players at half-time, including Doku, who was dangerous in front of goal in the second half but was replaced just 11 minutes later by the ineffective Kevin De Bruyne.
The second 45 minutes were more like what you would expect from City, but they were jittery in the first half and ultimately could not recover.
Sam Lee
What did Pep Guardiola say?
We bring you this after he spoke at the post-match press conference.
What did Erik ten Hag say?
We bring you this after he spoke at the post-match press conference.
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(Top photo: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
