Man City 2-1 Man Utd (Gundogan 1′, 51′ | Fernandes P 32′)
Manchester City are tantalisingly close to a historic treble after Ilkay Gundogan’s brace secured victory in the first ever FA Cup final Manchester derby.
It took just 12 seconds for the midfielder to score the fastest goal in the 151-year history of this fixture, eclipsing Louis Saha’s 25-second strike for Everton against Chelsea in 2009.
Pep Guardiola had made a surprise call by including Stefan Ortega in goal ahead of Ederson, but it immediately paid off as the stopper launched the ball forward, it was hastened on by Erling Haaland’s header, and Gundogan lifted it into the net from outside the area.
Just as Guardiola was pumping his fists away from his chest, Casemiro lifted his palms and pleaded for calm. City’s onslaught was so overwhelming, so all-encompassing that the Manchester United midfielder’s frustrations shortly got the better of him. An over-the-top challenge on Akanji was totally cynical but was not deemed red-card worthy by VAR David Coote.
City’s gripes with the officials did not end there. Jack Grealish saw the ball graze his fingers in the box as he defended Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross.
Bruno Fernandes’ cool finish was the first goal City had conceded in the FA Cup all season. “It is terrible,” was Alan Shearer’s verdict on the current state of the handball rule.
It meant United were perhaps fortunate to head in level at the break and Gundogan soon restored City’s lead with another goal from the edge of the box – not as graceful as the first but United had not learned the perils of leaving him unattended as he guided in Kevin De Bruyne’s corner.
A first FA Cup final hat-trick since 1953 was a stretch too far, his third from close range ruled out for offside. Onto Istanbul.
Here are i‘s player ratings.
Man Utd player ratings
- De Gea – Motionless for Gundogan’s goal and Rodri’s effort but not much he could do about either. Got a hand to Gundogan’s second but he saw it late and wasn’t strong enough. Important save with his feet to deny De Bruyne 6
- Wan-Bissaka – Received a hapless booking for sliding in towards Grealish but also involved in much of United’s build-up down the right and won the penalty 6
- Varane – Lost Gundogan in dangerous areas. Worryingly turned by Haaland when the Norwegian fired over the bar. Could have put United ahead on the verge of half time but couldn’t control his effort 6
- Lindelof – Beaten by Haaland for the header that led to Gundogan’s goal and fortunate De Bruyne’s drag back evaded the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner as well as himself 6
- Shaw – Vital header to stop Haaland at the far post . Saved Fred when he played United into trouble and kept United in the game almost single-handedly by the end 8
- Casemiro – Lucky to stay on for the Akanji challenge, gave the ball away with a weak pass to Sancho and wasted a couple of efforts too 5
- Fred – Nearly got United in trouble with consecutive poor touches in the box. Survived a VAR check for a foul on De Bruyne in the area, who he also hauled down later on. Finally booked for a foul on Grealish 4
- Eriksen – Should have been nearer Gundogan for City’s opening goal and found it hard to create much 5
- Fernandes – Cool for his penalty and created good opportunities for Sancho and Rashford 7
- Rashford – Probably United’s most creative player when they were up against it and dropped deep to try and stem the tide 7
- Sancho – Tried to quietly influence United’s attack but the occasion seemed to get to him 5
Substitutes:
- Garnacho – Battled Stones well and his effort from distance was not far wide 6
- Weghorst – Was never going to be the goalscorer United needed 5
- McTominay – Lively after coming on and came agonisingly close to heading in injury time 7
Man City player ratings
- Ortega – Instantly vindicated his selection by initiating City’s move for Gundogan’s goal. Covered his goal well in injury time as McTominay attacked 7
- Walker – Kept up his pace and even helped Akanji on the left, but did give the ball away cheaply to Casemiro and a little guilty of overcomplicating things, prompting a furious reaction from Guardiola 7
- Dias – Typically, brilliantly understated but in control as he dealt well with Sancho running at him 8
- Akanji – Did little wrong but a relatively low-key afternoon 6
- Stones – The advantage of City’s early breakthrough meant he was able to fully exploit the hybrid role, making runs in the final third. Produced a marvellously cool turn out of trouble though he briefly switched off to let Rashford in 7
- Rodri – Completed 100 per cent of his passes in the first half and consistently created chances but began to flag in the heat 7
- De Bruyne – Spotted Gundogan free on the edge of the box to set up the second, and should have had two more assists were it not for Rodri’s wide header and a drag-back beyond Haaland and Grealish 8
- Bernardo – Lucky to avoid punishment for a hack on Shaw off the ball. Also caused Shaw more constructive problems on the wing 7
- Gundogan – Absurd technique for the first goal and teamed up beautifully with De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. The second was not hit so cleanly but still positioned himself well for De Bruyne’s corner 8
- Grealish – Very little he could have done about the “handball” for the penalty that. Dragged a shot wide but also played City out of trouble on more than one occasion 6
- Haaland – His header set up Gundogan’s goal and offered City plenty up top, even if he couldn’t quite connect for his own effort and fired another over the bar 6
Substitutes:
- Foden – Made some decent touches but came on too late for a real impact 6
- Ake – N/A
- Laporte – N/A
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/Z29TMiP
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