Manchester United tore the script to shreds as first-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo saw them defeat rivals Manchester City to win the FA Cup.
In what could prove to be Erik ten Hag’s final game as United manager, with the club sounding out potential replacements in case they opt to part ways with the Dutchman after two years, his team produced arguably their finest performance of the season to end a fraught 2023-24 on a trophy-winning high.
Pep Guardiola’s newly-crowned four-in-a-row Premier League champions piled on the pressure in the second half and halved the deficit late on 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 down a dramatic afternoon at Wembley.
How Erik ten Hag got his tactical approach right
As dark clouds circled over job security, Erik ten Hag was bold in his tactical selection.
The 4-2-2-2 shape that carried Manchester United through victories over Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion in the season’s final two league matches was used again at Wembley. Lisandro Martinez was paired with Raphael Varane in central defence for the first time since the 4-3 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 1.
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were preferred on the wings while Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes operated up front as split strikers. The United manager’s game plan appeared to be one of containing and then counter-attacking Manchester City. Twenty minutes into the match, things appeared to be working; United’s out-of-possession shape was more compact and resilient. The ‘big gap’ opposition analysts have spoken of was a thing of the past.
When United lost the ball, they would counter-press for five seconds in an effort to regain it before retreating into their shell. Ten Hag’s men were comfortable funnelling City’s attacks wide, confident that their centre-backs could eliminate any crosses into Erling Haaland. When United did recover possession, they would move to break quickly.
Ten Hag won his second trophy as United manager in what may be his final game in the job (Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
If there was an issue, it became apparent when Kyle Walker again had the beating of Rashford in a race. United’s attempts to get in behind City’s back four came with limited success. Any time they found a crack in the armour of Pep Guardiola’s team, the Premier League champions made an adjustment.
Then it happened.
A wonderful long pass from Diogo Dalot, and Garnacho gave chase down the United right. The 19-year-old lost the sprint to Josko Gvardiol but the City defender made a meal of his header back to advancing goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. Garnacho seized his chance to poke the ball home and 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,” said Dalot in the lead-up to the final.
United made good on his words with their second goal nine minutes later. A brief spell of settled 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 looked to have got it right. Guardiola’s introductions of Jeremy Doku and then Julian Alvarez attempted to stretch United’s compact shape, but they managed to survive despite the former’s late consolation goal.
Carl Anka
Mainoo’s goal: the anatomy of a cup-final classic
If history remembers this as Ten Hag’s final game in charge, at least United went out scoring one of the finest goals of his two-season tenure: one that was a symbol of what he has attempted to achieve.
This was Exhibit 1A in how the United manager wants his players to attack: with intensity while initially breaking away, but then composure to finish in the box. That may sound contradictory. It has often looked contradictory, and sometimes totally unsustainable, this season. But when it works, it is thrilling.
The move began as it ended, with Kobbie Mainoo laying a simple pass off to Marcus Rashford in space on the left flank, midway inside his own half.
To play a crossfield pass from that position was ambitious, and the ball perhaps did not have enough pace on it to truly expose City’s extremely high line, but Rashford’s thinking was still quick enough to catch them on the back foot regardless.
Yet it was the speed and ingenuity of thought on approach to and inside the penalty area that stood out — something United have sorely lacked this season. Alejandro Garnacho first slowed the move down, allowing Bruno Fernandes a glance at Mainoo’s advancing position, then sped it up.
Fernandes’ immaculate lay-off carried echoes of Teddy Sheringham at Wembley — not only for England against the Netherlands at Euro 96, but more relevantly in a United shirt in the 1999 FA Cup final to set up Paul Scholes to score the decisive second against Newcastle United. There was just one difference. Sheringham was looking the right way.
And that it should be Mainoo to apply the first-touch finish, with all the sang-froid that we have come to expect from the teenage United academy graduate in his breakthrough season, was fitting — and not only because he started the move in the first place.
Whatever United’s future holds, Mainoo will be part of it — and so should direct, devastating football like this.
Mark Critchley
How United exploited City’s high line
From the opening exchanges, it was clear Manchester United were not going to be trying to dominate the match.
Erik ten Hag was content to allow Manchester City to have the ball but wanted his players to be ready to exploit the opposition’s high line at any given opportunity. The Dutchman wanted to utilise the pace of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho to run in behind the City defence.
And it worked, time and time again.
Although Garnacho’s opening goal came from an almighty mix-up at the back between Josko Gvardiol and Stefan Ortega, it would not have materialised had it not been for the Argentinian running in behind and forcing the mistake.
Alejandro Garnacho fires into an empty net to open the scoring (Alex Pantling/Getty Images )
United continued to stand off City and got their rewards again with another quick transition. This time, Rashford passed out wide to Garnacho, who had acres of space. He then squared it to 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 had Ten Hag licking his lips. This was his game plan playing out in the most devastating of ways.
Although Rashford struggled to consistently get the better of Kyle Walker, arguably the quickest right-back in football, Garnacho continued to beat Gvardiol.
Even during the second half, which saw City dominate 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, are going to lose games,” Pep Guardiola said last weekend, after seeing his side lift the Premier League title yet again. “You have to choose how you lose games. That’s what defines the best teams.”
Manchester City certainly went down swinging in the second half and got one goal back to set up a tense finale, which saved a lot of face after an uncharacteristic first 45 minutes.
Had Julian Alvarez put away a huge chance amid an onslaught with around 30 minutes to go, the tide may have turned in City’s favour much sooner but, in the end, it was not 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 happy with their patient probing up front before the break, and that is fine when you keep the back door closed, but the mix-up for the opening goal seemed to rock them — they seemed to rush things, leaving gaps that United took advantage of with their brilliant second.
Guardiola was not messing around with his changes, making two of them at half-time, including the introduction of Jeremy Doku, who brought danger well before his late goal, and then the ineffective Kevin De Bruyne was taken off just 11 minutes later.
The second 45 minutes were much more like the kind of performance we have come to expect from City but that first half rattled them and ultimately, they could not 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 their 2-1 FA Cup final defeat against neighbours 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 could not score more.
“They are a transition team; always, United, since 10, 20, 30 years; they have always been a transition team. In the first half, we struggle a little bit and (in) the second half, we were better until we found our moment (to get a goal back).
“We scored a little bit late, with the chances we had with Erling (Haaland) and Jules (Julian Alvarez) and actions from Jeremy (Doku), especially on the left side, in general, it was a good performance, considering it was a final.”
What did Erik ten Hag say?
“All the compliments to the team,” Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag told BBC Sport. “They played very good, to our identity, very strong. You are seeing that (when) we have the players on board, how we can play, in our philosophy.
“I tell you this the whole year: when the players are fit, we can play good football. (It was) a very good performance, against the best team of the world, I think.”
Ten Hag also addressed criticism of him and his team this season, saying: “We didn’t have the players. We (he and the critics) have seen the same things. There was not always good football, definitely not, but we had to make, all the time, compromises. Then you can’t play the football you want to play.
“I’m now here two years and probably (only) three, four times we had the full squad on board. Also today, some massive players, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Casemiro, were not on board.”
Ten Hag on if this was his last game as United manager: “I don’t know but the only thing I’m doing is preparing my team, developing my team, (try to) progress my team and individual players because this, for me, is a project. When I came in, I can say it was a mess. We are now better, but we are by far not where we want to be.”
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(Top photo: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)