Man City on track for historic treble with FA Cup triumph over Man United - In photos

Manchester City is one game away from a historic treble after Ilkay Gundogan scored twice to beat Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup final on Saturday. Here is a recap of an exciting final, in pictures.

Published : Jun 04, 2023 00:10 IST

Photo: Clive Rose

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City lifted the FA Cup, with its 2-1 win over Man United in the final taking the side one step closer to a historic continental treble. Here’s a closer look at the highs and lows of this exciting summit clash, in pictures.

Photo: Clive Rose

This was the first time the FA Cup final saw a Manchester Derby. A City win would ensure their treble hopes remained alive and well (they did and it does).

Photo: Clive Rose

A United victory would have given the side a domestic cup double for the first time in the club’s history and another piece of silverware for Erik Ten Hag.

Photo: Mike Hewitt

Wembley was packed for another chapter in the famed rivalry between the two sides which, this time, had a lot at stake for both teams.

Photo: Clive Rose

Perhaps, the player who understood the assignment the most was City skipper Ilkay Gundogan. The midfielder opened the scoring for City merely 13 seconds after kick off! All David de Gea could do was watch.

Photo: Mike Hewitt

Gundogan’s opening strike was the fastest goal scored in FA Cup final history.

Photo: Mike Hewitt

Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s header into the box struck Jack Grealish’s raised hand as he jumped to challenge for the cross. A penalty was awarded to United after a VAR review confirmed the handball, much to Grealish’s displeasure.

Photo: Mike Hewitt

This allowed United back into the game in the 33rd minute, with Bruno Fernandes making no mistake from the spot.

Photo: Shaun Botterill

Despite City’s protestations, Tierney pointed to the spot and Fernandes coolly sent Stefan Ortega the wrong way. The Portuguese’s celebrations in front of the City fans were met with a flurry of objects thrown from the stands, one of which struck Lindelof.

Photo: Adam Davy - PA Images

Guardiola was also seen showing his fury at the officiating as VAR did not intervene seven minutes before half-time when Kevin De Bruyne was wiped out by Fred inside the area and no penalty was awarded.

Photo: Marc Atkins

But the City captain, in what could be his final game for the club on English soil with his contract expiring at the end of the season, volleyed home the winner six minutes into the second-half.

Photo: Clive Rose

Alejandro Garnacho introduction pumped some life into the United attack as the youngster constantly tested City’s defense and threatened to make meaningful advances and find the back of the net. However, City did just enough to keep him and others like Scot McTominay.

Photo: Clive Rose

More questions will be asked of whether David De Gea remains the right man to be United’s number one goalkeeper after the 32-year-old Spaniard’s sluggish attempt to keep it out.

Photo: Will Palmer/Allstar

De Gea did at least make a big saves to keep United in the game from De Bruyne and Haaland.

Photo: Shaun Botterill

Gundogan was denied a rare FA Cup final hat-trick by the offside flag.

Photo: Mark Leech/Offside

Erik ten Hag said his team was broken after the loss. “This team showed resilience, character and personality. We know we have a way to go but this will make us better. It was a test for us -- we didn’t succeed but we can take a lot of positives into next season.”

The Red Devils broke their six-year trophy drought in February, beating Newcastle in the League Cup final, and finished third in the Premier League in Ten Hag’s first season at the helm. But they were second best in the London sunshine as Premier League champions City remained on course for a treble.

Photo: Shaun Botterill

Prince William handed the trophy and medals to the victorious City side, but the manager admitted that the job was still half done.

“The players know what we have ahead of us,” said Guardiola. “After every hug everyone said: ‘one more to go’. “We are in a position we will probably never be in again. “Everybody knows we’ve done incredible seasons, but we have to win the Champions League to be recognised like the team deserve to be recognised.”

Photo: Mike Hewitt

The Champions League title has so far eluded City despite the billions invested since an Abu Dhabi-backed takeover transformed the club’s fortunes 15 years ago.

Photo: James Williamson - AMA

The Red Devils could not find the goal to deny Guardiola an 11th major trophy as City boss and protect the unique legacy of Alex Ferguson’s great side 24 years ago.

Only Inter in Istanbul in a week’s time now stand between City and matching the greatest achievement English club football has ever seen.

Photo: Clive Rose

England manager Gareth Southgate watched on as Manchester City completed a famous win over its city rival.

There were a number of celebrities watching along as City edged United out 2-1. Indian cricketing superstar Virat Kohli, his wife and actor-producer Anushka Sharma and budding cricketing star Shubman Gill were among those in attendance at Wembley.

Actor and Wrexham AFC co-owner Ryan Reynolds was also at the game, hosted by Manchester United. Wrexham was part of the festivities with striker Paul Mullin adjudged the top goalscorer in this year’s edition of the tournament. Mullin’s nine goals were crucial in helping Wrexham reach the fourth round before its campaign was cut short by Sheffield United.

The world’s number one T20 batter, India’s Suryakumar Yadav was also watching the game along with his wife Devisha. The duo were seated in the City end. The Indian team is currently in England for the World Test Championship final where it will take on Australia. Suryakumar is a reserve player in the Indian squad.

Yuvraj Singh, a lifelong Manchester United, was there sporting the colours on his suit as he cheered for his team in Wembley. He was part of the broadcast team’s coverage and even made sure to sledge Chelsea fan and fellow cricketer Kevin Pietersen on air for his team not making the final.

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Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City lifted the FA Cup, with its 2-1 win over Man United in the final taking the side one step closer to a historic continental treble. Here’s a closer look at the highs and lows of this exciting summit clash, in pictures.
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