EPL Live News Teams Scores & Schedule Standings The Athletic FC Newsletter ••• Log In

Football's breaking point What now for Roberto De Zerbi?

Manage privacy preferences
The best and worst Euros kits

FT, May 26

CHA LEE 0 We and our 209 vendors use cookies and similar methods to recognize visitors and remember their
preferences, for analytics, to measure our marketing effectiveness and to target and measure the effectiveness
SOU 1
of ads, among other things.To learn more about these methods, view our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.

By clicking ‘Accept all,’ you consent to the processing of your data by us and our vendors using the above

Man City erred in the big moments

methods. You can always change your preferences by clicking on Manage Privacy Preferences in our website
footer or in your app Account Settings. Your preferences here are unrelated to Apple’s App Tracking

against United but this is still a season to

Transparency Framework.

We and our partners use cookies and similar methods for the following purposes:
celebrate
Store and/or access information on a device

Personalised advertising, advertising measurement, audience research and services development

Use precise geolocation data

Actively scan device characteristics for identification

Accept All Reject All Manage Preferences

By Sam Lee May 25, 2024

What a strange set of emotions Manchester City fans, players and staff will
wake up with on Sunday morning.

Those back in Manchester will be gearing up for a bus-top parade around

the city, an opportunity to celebrate the magnificent achievement of
winning four Premier League titles in a row, a feat that was enjoyed long
into the night just six days ago.

And yet there is the sickening feeling of not just losing a final, but one that
was a Manchester derby. Of not just losing a Manchester derby, but a final.
There is no escaping that gut-wrench, especially against this Manchester
United team, one of which so little was expected on the day by so many.

This is why Pep Guardiola did not want a parade this weekend; in case
City lost this FA Cup final. He wanted a mini one last Sunday, after full time
at home against West Ham, with the players supposed to take their league
trophy from the Etihad Stadium to the Mayfield Depot down the road —
scene of a few big City parties over the years.

And that was going to happen until the middle of last week, when logistical
complaints put paid to it. In the end, the parade plans were confirmed on
Monday. The show will go on.

Guardiola and his players, then, will have to pick themselves up. They kept
their runners-up medals on as they watched United lift the FA Cup today
and the manager addressed each and every one of them as they waited.

“(I said) ‘Come on’. We talked and hugged each other and said that now we
are sad but we celebrate the incredible achievement we have done and
then come back, it’s as simple as that,” he explained. “In football and life,
you win and lose. It’s the way that we lose — it’s what we have to do. In the
second half, we didn’t give up.”

GO DEEPER
FA Cup final Briefing: Manchester City 1 Manchester United 2 - A breathtaking team
goal and Ten Hag gets it right

Perhaps it was that unusual blend of emotions that cost City in the end, too,
even if Guardiola blamed his own decisions. “I think my game plan in the
first half was not good,” he said, explaining that he had one too many
players at the back, leaving the team short on the edge of the United
penalty area.

He did say that, even with that in mind, City got to the byline a few times
and created like they often do. And that would have been fine, had they
kept the back door closed. The problem was that they did not, and the main
cause was a simple mistake.

They happen in football and, on Saturday, they happened to two stars of

City’s title run-in.

Stefan Ortega basically secured the Premier League trophy with his save
to deny Son Heung-min at 1-0 late in the penultimate league match against
Tottenham Hotspur, but this time he came racing out, without announcing
himself, meaning that Josko Gvardiol presented Alejandro Garnacho with

Create a free account to continue

an open goal to make it 1-0.

reading.

Create Account

Already have an account? Log In