Mnu Mnc notes

Teenage starlets terrorise Man City in first half

Rather than bring Rasmus Hojlund back in from the cold, Ten Hag persisted with his box midfield - spearheaded by Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes - while also including Marcus Rashford in the XI after his England Euros snub.

John Stones also earned an increasingly rare start at the back for City, but it was another centre-half who breathed a huge sigh of relief in the first minute of the FA Cup final, as Lisandro Martinez escaped conceding a penalty after clattering into Erling Haaland.

What a MIX-UP between Ortega and Gvardiol! 😲

Alejandro Garnacho takes the opportunity to give Man Utd the lead 🔴💥#BBCFootball #BBCFACup pic.twitter.com/XygS9aNAOl

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 25, 2024

The early spot-kick incident was foreboding of a fast-paced start from both teams, in which Man City enjoyed the lion's share of possession of course, but Man United restricted the central space effectively and comfortably dealt with a few deliveries into the box.

However, it was one long ball over the top which saw the holders come undone on the half-hour mark, as Stefan Ortega came out to intercept Diogo Dalot's lofted pass, which Josko Gvardiol already has eyes on.

In the miscommunication chaos, Gvardiol headed the ball over his onrushing goalkeeper, giving the grateful Garnacho - who as being played onside by Stones - an empty net to tap into.

With their fans in unexpected ecstasy, Man United had the ball in the back of the net again in minute 38, as Garnacho turned provider for Rashford to tap in, but the Argentine failed to beat the offside trap on this occasion.

Just one moment later, though, Garnacho would thwart the Man City high line from Rashford's exceptional switch of play, combining with Bruno Fernandes as the Man City defence backed off, and the Portuguese's deft flick to an untracked Kobbie Mainoo ended with the teenager doubling Man United's lead via a calm first-time finish.

Kyle Walker's attempts to reach Mainoo were futile - the right-back let out a scream of anguish as the 19-year-old set himself to beat Ortega - and Ten Hag's troops entered the break two goals to the good.

Pep Guardiola sought to liven up a stagnant Citizens attack by introducing Jeremy Doku for the second period, where Haaland almost cut the arrears in half with his first real sniff, but the Norwegian's first-time curler smacked the bar and bounced to safety.

Haaland's near miss sparked a period of relentless attacking from Man City, as a Walker piledriver in the 59th minute was brilliantly tipped behind by a diving Andre Onana, two moments before Julian Alvarez - on for Kevin De Bruyne - fired one over the top.

Guardiola's brazen call to demote De Bruyne for Alvarez was not paying off; the Argentine then poked a glorious chance wide in the 64th minute after being slipped through by Phil Foden, and frustrations boiled over not long after.

A few City penalty appeals had already been waved away before Mainoo seemingly wrestled Haaland to the ground in the 75th minute - which was deemed fair by Andy Madley and those in the VAR room - two moments before Onana was equal to another long-range Walker attempt bound for the far corner.

For all of Onana's previous successful feats in the United goal, though, he had to shoulder a portion of the blame for a belated City response in the 87th minute, as Doku cut inside and let fly from the edge of the box with a relatively tame attempt, which Onana could only push into the bottom corner of the net.