Man City 2-1 Man Utd: Player ratings as Gundogan brace settles FA Cup final
By Sean Walsh
A brace from Ilkay Gundogan proved the difference on Saturday as Manchester City beat rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup final.
Erik ten Hag's men put up a spirited fight but were unable to claim their second piece of silverware of the season, falling to a narrow defeat at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola's side completed a league-and-cup double and their dreams of winning the treble are still alive heading into next week's Champions League final against Inter.
With just 12 seconds on the clock, Gundogan scored the fastest goal in the history of the FA Cup final. Stefan Ortega's long punt forward was nodded forward by Erling Haaland and half-cleared by Victor Lindelof, with the ball falling kindly for the German midfielder to hit on the volley, firing into the top corner of David de Gea's net.
Three minutes later, Rodri nearly headed in a second from an in-swinging Kevin De Bruyne free-kick, with his effort whistling past the near post.
Haaland's movement and physicality continued to cause Man Utd problems. Midway through the first half, he shrugged Raphael Varane away from a bouncing ball and managed to beat him with a quick swivel before letting fly from 20 yards, but his strike sailed just over.
The Red Devils' first sight of goal came when Casemiro clipped a ball into the 18-yard box and it was met by Marcus Rashford, but his header was weak and wayward, trickling way wide.
Despite their poor start, Man Utd were offered a reprieve when they were awarded a penalty. Bruno Fernandes' cross-field ball was headed on by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the ball deflected off the hand of the challenging Jack Grealish, and a spot kick was given following a VAR check.
Fernandes stepped up to take and rolled it home to equalise, marking the first time Man City have conceded in this season's FA Cup.
Just before the break, Man Utd nearly took the lead against the run of play. A corner from Christian Eriksen was flicked on by Casemiro and the ball flew into the path of Varane, whose fast-thinking volley arrowed to the right of Ortega's goal.
Within six minutes of the restart, Man City found themselves back in front. De Bruyne won a free-kick by the touchline after being cynically chopped down by Fred, and the Belgian pulled the ball back from the set piece to find Gundogan free on the edge of the box. The skipper again struck it on the volley, and though this time the contact wasn't as clean, it still trickled past De Gea and in.
De Gea was at least able to deny De Bruyne directly when he made a darting run into the Man Utd box and fired from around 12 yards, keeping the midfielder out with a low save.
Rashford had to wait until the 69th minute to trouble Man City, neatly turning on the edge of the penalty area and unleashing a venomous strike which brushed the paintwork of the crossbar on the way over.
60 seconds later, Man City had the ball in the net for a third time. Grealish's cut-back was swung towards goal by Haaland, and his shot was spilled by De Gea into the path of Gundogan to tap in. However, the offside flag was quickly up to deny him a hat-trick.
The game was opening back up a bit and substitute Alejandro Garnacho was inches away from equalising with a curled shot from 20 yards, only narrowly dragging it wide.
Man City nearly added another as the match entered the final 10 minutes when a cross from Bernardo Silva through the six yard box just about missed the onrushing Manuel Akanji.
Haaland then managed to dance and twist his way into the Man Utd box and force a challenge from Varane, whose tackle ricocheted off the Norwegian's shins and mercifully wide.
Man Utd twice came within millimetres of equalising in stoppage time. Ortega did well to spread himself to deny Varane from close range, deflecting his effort onto the bar, before Scott McTominay's rebound took a nick off a Man City player and bounced on top of the net.
But that was as close as the Red Devils came to levelling the final again and Man City held their nerve to take home the FA Cup.
Manchester City player ratings (3-2-4-1)
GK: Stefan Ortega - 6/10 - Proved a suitable replacement for Ederson, distributing the ball with ease and never finding himself under pressure.
CB: Kyle Walker - 7/10 - Completely gobbled up Sancho. Put to work a little more when Garnacho was introduced but was still imperious and confident in his defending.
CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - For long stretches didn't have a lot to do, though notably kept quiet the threat of Rashford.
CB: Manuel Akanji - 6/10 - Very little to criticise the Swiss defender about, but didn't provide the same physicality and confidence that Walker and Dias.
DM: John Stones - 8/10 - Superb. A performance for the ages, stepping in at full-back, centre-back and midfield whenever necessary, performing each task to near-perfection.
DM: Rodri - 6/10 - Made a few uncharacteristic errors in the second half and looked out of breath down the final stretch. Otherwise tidy.
RM: Bernardo Silva - 5/10 - Released the ball almost as quickly as he got it. Technically excellent but did not carry much responsibility today.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne - 7/10 - Sometimes guilty of releasing the ball too late but Man Utd were clearly terrified by the Belgian, who still popped up with a clever assist.
AM: Ilkay Gundogan - 9/10 - Few players have improved their long-term legacies in these last few months as much as Gundogan, who came up clutch and goes down in history. Again.
LM: Jack Grealish - 4/10 - You could debate whether or not the penalty should have stood all day long, but ultimately Grealish didn't provide much of a positive impact for his team anyway.
CF: Erling Haaland - 6/10 - Chances for the Norwegian were few and far between but just as was the case with De Bruyne, Man Utd were clearly terrified by Haaland and had to adjust simply to dampen his influence.
Substitutes
Phil Foden (76' for De Bruyne) - 5/10
Nathan Ake (90' for Grealish) - N/A
Aymeric Laporte (90+5 for Walker) - N/A
Subs not used: Ederson, Lewis, Phillips, Palmer, Mahrez, Alvarez
Manager
Pep Guardiola - 7/10 - Man City made decent chances and largely had control of the game, but they could have made their lives a little easier.
Manchester United player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: David de Gea - 2/10 - Didn't even attempt to save Man City's first and should have done much better with their second. Continually played his side into trouble with his substandard distribution. A clear weak link which Man Utd need to upgrade on.
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 6/10 - His endeavour at least led to Man Utd's penalty, while he ensured Grealish could barely get a sniff down the other end.
CB: Raphael Varane - 5/10 - Never quite figured out the best way to defend Haaland, while he missed a half-decent chance to put Man Utd ahead near the end of the first half.
CB: Victor Lindelof - 5/10 - Harsh to put much blame at his door for the opener considering he was given a tough battle by De Bruyne. Sacrificed late on for another forward-thinking player.
LB: Luke Shaw - 6/10 - Like Wan-Bissaka ensured that the Man City winger he was tasked with marking didn't have much of a say on the day. Made a vital clearance to deny Foden late on.
CM: Casemiro - 6/10 - An up-and-down day in midfield. Brought the energy that Man Utd sorely needed, but was also a little wasteful on the ball and reckless off it.
CM: Fred - 4/10 - Given the runaround, making several tired challenges all over the pitch. His energy is the only reason he survived the full 90.
RM: Bruno Fernandes - 6/10 - Nerves of steel from the penalty spot but was unable to pick the lock from open play.
AM: Christian Eriksen - 4/10 - Technically decent but very clear to see why Man Utd are chasing a more energetic midfielder in Mason Mount. Could barely keep up with the pace of the game despite his clear quality.
LM: Jadon Sancho - 4/10 - Played without confidence, charisma and direction. A testing day for the winger.
CF: Marcus Rashford - 5/10 - Starved of service despite his best efforts to get into the game. Didn't really threaten Man City until late on even though they seemed keen not to dive into challenges when he was on the ball.
Substitutes
Alejandro Garnacho (62' for Eriksen) - 7/10 - Brought energy and impetus from the bench.
Wout Weghorst (78' for Sancho) - 5/10
Scott McTominay (83' for Lindelof) - N/A
Subs not used: Butland, Maguire, Malacia, Dalot, Pellistri, Elanga
Manager
Erik ten Hag - 5/10 - Man Utd didn't offer a lot but they at least made it competitive and nervy for Man City until the very end.