Man United ‘red-faced’ with joy as they beat their city rivals to lift FA Cup

By Correspondent

Manchester United ended a poor season on a huge high as Erik ten Hag ignored intense speculation about his future to mastermind a shock FA Cup final win against rivals Manchester City.

The build-up to the second successive all-Manchester showpiece was dominated by the Dutchman’s future after a report on Friday claimed he would be sacked regardless of the outcome at Wembley.

Pre-match there was a sense of inevitability about the result – United had lost six of its last seven matches against City and four of its last five finals, while City was enjoying another dominant season.

But United clung on to its hard-fought lead and its bench emptied onto the pitch after the final whistle to celebrate winning a trophy after an often miserable season for the historic club.

But United impressively parked talk that Saturday could be Ten Hag’s last match as teenage stars Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo struck, with the side digging deep to triumph 2-1 after substitute Jeremy Doku’s late effort.

It is the Red Devils boss’ second piece of silverware in as many seasons, but time will tell whether the trophy and Europa League qualification satisfies ambitious Ineos after limping home eighth in the league.

Jim Ratcliffe was joined by Joel Glazer and Avram Glazer at Wembley, where United’s co-owners could not fail to have been impressed by Ten Hag’s game plan and his side’s output.

Most predicted City would become the first English side to win back-to-back domestic doubles fresh from sealing an unprecedented fourth straight top-flight title, but there appeared to be a hangover.

Sources: CNN, Irish Times

This is a developing story it will be updated