Ilkay Gundogan scored a brace to help Man City produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the FA Cup final. Ilkay Gundogan’s spectacular volley gave Manchester City the lead with just 12 seconds remaining, breaking Louis Saha’s record of 25 seconds set in the 2009 FA Cup final. In spite of City’s commanding start, United managed to stay in the game and draw level when Jack Grealish was penalized for handball after blocking an Aaron Wan-Bissaka pass, which was detected by VAR. The rest was handled by Bruno Fernandes from the penalty spot.
When Kevin De Bruyne found Gundogan on the outside of the box, he controlled his second volleyed goal of the match past David de Gea, who was somewhat taken off guard, to give City the lead once again. An offside flag prevented Gundogan from scoring a hat-trick, and United threatened to score again in stoppage time, but the goal remained out thanks to Raphael Varane’s shot hitting the top of the crossbar. In order to become just the second team, after United in 1999, to win the Premier League, FA Cup, and European Cup triple, Pep Guardiola’s squad will now play Inter Milan in the Champions League final the following Saturday.
After the pre-game hoopla of flares, flags, and pyrotechnics, many spectators were still finding seats when Gundogan created a memorable FA Cup moment. Erling Haaland won a long ball that was blasted forward, and Gundogan pounced on the loose ball from 25 yards out to produce a spectacular volley that recalled Zinedine Zidane’s legendary Champions League championship goal at Hampden Park. The pressure cooker of the persistent City push nearly brought United to its knees, but Haaland, who gave Varane the runaround, curled a shot wide and De Bruyne followed suit with a shot from range.
There was little indication that United would respond, but it did so with a penalty that was given for Grealish’s handball when he unnaturally used his arm to stop a cross. Fernandes, who had a sluggish run-up, dutifully complied from the spot. Victor Lindelof seemed to be hit by something from the crowd during the celebrations, but he was unharmed. After the interval, City resumed their entire attention on the task at hand, maintaining the ball with their customary certainty and excellence. A player who is built for the big stage scored the goal after 51 minutes.
Gundogan nearly had enough punch in response to De Bruyne’s free-kick to drive a low, cutting strike past a group of defenders and beyond of De Gea’s grasp. Despite having minimal access to the ball, United did make the most of the space they had since the entrance of the explosive Alejandro Garnacho gave their assaults more life. With a curling attempt from 20 yards, he came just inches from tying the score, while Marcus Rashford missed the mark with a fizzing shot.
In stoppage time, there was supposed to be one last dramatic play, but Varane’s looping header inside the six-yard box hit the crossbar and Scott McTominay was unable to pounce on the loose ball. The fact that United is the only side to have won a triple crown is now in serious doubt because this was supposed to be City’s FA Cup. Inter Milan must do them a favor in the June 10 Champions League final in Istanbul.
“We played a really strong game, taking a lot of risks because they posed a huge danger, especially with Rashford, but we controlled the game pretty well. We failed to launch a right-side offensive in the first half. We scored early in the second, but a championship game versus United is never easy for several reasons, and the superior squad always prevailed. We are modest enough to acknowledge their excellence. The feelings are so very unique,” Man City head coach Pep Guardiola said.
“I’m not interested in discussing criticism. De Gea has played well this season, and we have as well. When you consider that before today, City and we both had 42 victories, they now have one more victory. So today’s change was made. We have had a terrific season; it has exceeded our expectations. We’ve won a trophy, made it to another championship game, and qualified for the Champions League. The performance made me very delighted,” Man United head coach Erik Ten Hag said.
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