It was a day of celebration for the red side of Manchester on Saturday afternoon, after Manchester United beat their bitter rivals Manchester City at Wembley 2-1 to win their 13th FA Cup title.
Despite some nervy moments at the end of the game, including what turned out to be a consolation goal from Jeremy Doku, United managed to get over the line. Goals from Carrington products Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo sealed the deal for the Red Devils.
Garnacho opened the scoring after pouncing on a mistake from City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, and left-back Josko Gvardiol. The duo badly miscommunicated, with the ball bouncing over Ortega for Garnacho to run on and finish into an open net.
Mainoo doubled United’s lead nine minutes later when he got on the end of a sublime Bruno Fernandes assist, a no-looker, to calmly slot home past Ortega. Mainoo ran over to the City fans to celebrate, giving them a send off with a salute goodbye.
Despite a constant onslaught from City, Doku was the only man to be able to breach Andre Onana’s goal. United held on and managed to secure their 13th FA Cup and end a poor season in style.
There were several impressive performances from United, coming from the likes of Fernandes and Mainoo, who picked up the Player of the Match award. However, it was not just those two who stood out.
Andre Onana’s game vs Man City in numbers
Although he could have done better for Doku’s goal, there is no doubt that Onana made some crucial saves on Saturday afternoon. After starting the season in frustrating fashion, the Cameroonian has ended in fine form.
Touches
47
32
Long balls completed
9
2
Saves
3
3
Punches
3
0
High claims
1
0
According to Sofascore, Onana made three saves in the match, as many as his opposition number Ortega. However, he made three punches, compared to the German’s none, and made one high claim, a crucial catch from a corner late on. He had 47 touches of the ball in total.
Indeed, Onana’s three saves were crucial, with one in particular coming off a thunderbolt from Kyle Walker outside the box. United’s goalkeeper managed to get across in time after seeing it late, acrobatically tipping a shot destined for the top corner, wide.
The 28-year-old’s performance was only worthy of a 6/10 rating from Samuel Luckhurst, chief United writer for The Manchester Evening News. This is largely due to his mistake which allowed Doku to pull one back for City. However, Luckhurst acknowledged the way he “brilliantly repelled” Walker’s shot to prevent the Englishman.
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ByJoe NuttallMay 25, 2024 Sofyan Amrabat’s game vs Man City in numbers
27-year-old midfielder Sofyan Amrabat was one of the stars of United’s FA Cup final victory at Wembley on Saturday.
It has been a tough season at times for the Moroccan, who has had fleeting opportunities, but in recent weeks has really shown his best form.
Against City, Amarbat won a deserved 9/10 rating from Luckhurst, on the biggest of stages. The United journalist explained how Amrabat’s “hustling of City ypified United's compact performance” against Pep Guardiola's side, before describing United’s number four as an “impregnable shield”. He was relentless in front of the back four all game and screened them superbly.
This is certainly reflected in the Morocco international’s stats from the final. He actually had fewer touches of the ball than Onana’s 47, with just 37, but he certainly made them count. He won two ground duels, and two out of his three tackles, as well as making 2 clearances. Crucially, Amrabat kept the ball superbly and had a 93% pass accuracy at full-time, completing 25 of his 27 attempted passes.
If Amrabat does leave the club following the end of his loan spell, it has certainly been a memorable way to go out. It was a performance that earned him high praise from one of United's greatest players. Paul Scholes complimented Amrabat's performance on Instagram, calling him a "prime Gattuso." Moroccan journalist Jonas Adnan Giæver even described him as a "mountain."
This might also be Erik ten Hag’s last game as manager of the Red Devils. At the moment, his future is still up in the air, but if it is goodbye, he will leave his post as Manchester United manager as a winner.
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1 ByAlex CapleMay 25, 2024