Pep Guardiola burst into tears as he walked around the Wembley pitch hugging his players. About to close his eighth season in England, he had just won his second Cup in charge of the best version of his Manchester City, this time crowned by Erling Haaland. The most splendid goalscorer in the world did not score in the final, but he has given the team a new dimension in which flying midfielders such as De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Gündogan are more destabilizing than ever. The German was the author of both goals for his team. The first with the right, the second with the left, both with half a volley from the edge of the area. Two wrecking balls for Manchester United, who were left without enough answers to overcome the duel against a neighbor who acquired a giant dimension.
The sequence was majestic. King William sang God save the king, the referee whistled the start, Ilkay Gündogan put the ball in play, handing it to his goalkeeper, his goalkeeper sent it 70 meters away, for Haaland and De Bruyne to fight it in the skies, and when it was bouncing on the edge of the penalty area United was Gündogan himself who hooked him with the instep. Not even half a minute had passed. The shot entered like a breath, through David de Gea’s left corner. The Spaniard watched him go by on his knees. He stood up and for a moment he cast a resentful look at the now empty angle through which the ball had passed a few seconds ago. The goal is the enemy of the goalkeepers.
Thus began the first Cup final between United and City in 152 years of history. The oldest trophy in football was the penultimate obstacle between Guardiola’s team and the treble: having won the Cup and the Premier, they still have the Champions League to achieve a feat that in England only Alex Ferguson’s United achieved. The patriarch watched the events from the rostrum, sad. At the moment, the path of the City has the appearance of a six-lane highway. Gundogan has paved them and has planted the lampposts.
The script for the finale was executed as planned. Even after 1-0. United crouched around Casemiro, like a monument to the midfielder in a red square. “Calm, calm, calm…!” shouted the Brazilian. Nothing to undertake risky expeditions. Everyone to wait while City dominated the ball and the field. Equipped with several engines, the blue team handled the game with some comfort, waiting for their opponent to come out of their field to press. He made do with a line of three, with Dias in the middle, Akanji on the left and Walker on the right; he released Stones in increasingly loose inside roles ahead of Rodri; and alternately attacked with the battalion of midfielders exploiting the lanes that Haaland opened with his unchecking. City is a bursting team. Guardiola has closed another circle.
Manchester City… IS THE FA CUP CHAMPION! ✨
✅ Premier League
✅ FA Cup
❓ Champions LeagueThe treble is closer and Pep Guardiola’s men only have the last step left 👏 #FACupEnDAZN 🏆 pic.twitter.com/5LaszXQjKE
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) June 3, 2023
City controlled the situation without much effort when Bruno Fernandes, the only one capable of creating dangerous situations, hung an apparently defenseless ball over Ortega’s area. Wan-Bissaka disputed it with Grealish, who touched it with his hand after the left-hand header from the side. The VAR decreed a penalty. Fernandes made it 1-1 and David Beckham, in the box, celebrated by opening the seams of his cold wool suit. The two teams went to rest paired.
The king and Guardiola
United continued to speculate about the size of Casemiro. Together the lines, Haaland spent long periods without touching the ball, while Stones, who alternated defense with playmaker, got between the lines to combine. The touches bore little fruit but United did not manage to steal the ball either in order to generate clear chances. Before recoveries, faults prevailed. From a foul caused by De Bruyne in the band the 2-1 arose. Gundogan finished off with air, fast, without letting it bounce. The ball came spit out, bitten, bouncing between the legs of Casemiro and Varane, until it got next to De Gea’s right post. The goalkeeper could barely show off. He made a good save for Haaland before the end, when the game broke down.
United ended up entrusting themselves to the intrepid young Garnacho, author of a shot at the post. In between, he hung lateral crosses for Weghorst or McTominay to head. City reacted by withdrawing and resisting. Discount minutes added excitement more than harmony. Lack of control and overflowing feelings spread on the winning bench, where Guardiola seems to be aware that he is centimeters away from achieving something that no coach has ever achieved. The exchange of him with King William, while he was receiving the medal, evoked bar-room effusions. He awaits Istanbul, the Champions League final, next Saturday, like a last ring of fire on the way to eternity.
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