Manchester United produced their best performance of a mediocre season to upset Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final on Saturday and deprive their rivals of the double. Goals by teenagers Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo put United in the driving seat by halftime at Wembley and they survived a City siege after the break to win the trophy for the 13th time.
Champions City, bidding to become the first club to win the double in successive seasons, were well below their best in the first half and gifted United the lead in the 30th minute when Garnacho tapped home after a defensive mix-up. United doubled their lead before the break as Mainoo finished calmly after a superb team move.
City woke up in the second half and Erling Haaland hit the crossbar, but they had to wait until the 87th minute for substitute Jeremy Doku to score and set up a tense finale. United hung on, however, to ensure they will qualify for next season’s Europa League. Read back our dedicated blog below!
The very first meeting between these two local rivals in England’s oldest cup competition took place back in 1891 when Man City – formerly known as Ardwick – suffered a 5-1 home defeat to Man United in the first qualifying round.
Both clubs would win their first FA Cup – Man City in 1904 and Man United in 1908 – before meeting again in the 1926 semi-final, with the Citizens securing a comfortable 3-0 win before losing in the final to Bolton Wanderers.
Man City also beat Man United by a 2-0 scoreline in 1955 en route to losing the final against Newcastle United, before the Red Devils came out on top in the next three FA Cup Manchester derby meetings over a 26-year period between the 1970s and late 1990s, when they lifted the trophy on six occasions.
Since the turn of the millennium, the Manchester derby has taken place four times in the FA Cup, including a six-goal thriller in 2004 when Man United won 4-2 at Old Trafford in the fifth round before going all the way and beating Millwall in the final at the Millennium Stadium.
Man City’s ongoing spell of dominance on the domestic front began around the time of their 2011 FA Cup triumph, ending their 35-year wait for silverware. Yaya Toure was the hero in both the semi-final and final as he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Man United before netting the decisive goal again in the showpiece versus Stoke City.
In Sir Alex Ferguson’s penultimate season as a manager, Man United got their revenge just nine months later as they knocked out the holders with a 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium. Wayne Rooney scored either side of a Danny Welbeck strike to put the Red Devils three goals ahead before half time. City fought back with second-half goals from Aleksandar Kolarov and Sergio Aguero, but the visitors held on to progress from the third round.
For the first time in the FA Cup’s 153-year history, Man City and Man United locked horns in the final of last season’s competition, with the Citizens prevailing 2-1 courtesy of a brace from captain Ilkay Gundogan, including a record-breaking 12-second opener. Guardiola’s side went on to win a historic treble and they will enter Saturday’s showpiece seeking to become the first-ever team to win a league title and FA Cup double in consecutive seasons.
