With an opportunity to become the first-ever English club to win the domestic double, Manchester City came up short as they fell 2-1 to Manchester United in the FA Cup Final.
How did it happen?
Manchester City nearly jumped out to a quick start as Joško Gvardiol played a cross into the box to Erling Haaland, and the Norwegian international went down after contact from Lisandro Martínez.
The blue and white clamored for a first-minute penalty, but it was to no avail, as the referee Andy Madley said to play on.
Manchester City would continue to dominate play and possession, but the press of their backline left them vulnerable, allowing Manchester United to play over the top. One of those long balls would open up the scoring.
In the 30th minute, Diogo Dalot played a long ball to Alejandro Garnacho that looked like it should have been an easy claim for goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, but a miscommunication between the German international and Gvardiol led to the Manchester City defender heading the ball past Ortega, and Garnacho slotted it into the vacated net to send the Manchester United faithful into a frenzy.
The Red Devils looked to make it 2-0 moments later when Garnacho came in on a two-on-one break and played a pass to Marcus Rashfrod, who found the back of the net, but the flag was up for offsides.
Two minutes later, Garnacho would again make a run before playing a pass to Bruno Fernandes in the box. Fernandes would make a lovely pass to Kobbie Mainoo, and the 19-year-old would bury it to make it 2-0 Manchester United.
Manchester City nearly made it 2-1 in the 55th minute, as Haaland’s strike beat André Onana but not the crossbar.
The blue and white would continue to press, and after missing a couple of golden opportunities, Jérémy Doku finally got Manchester City on the board.
Doku would unleash a strike from the edge of the box that snuck past the outstretched arms of Onana and into the bottom left corner.
That would be as close as the blue and white would come to an equalizing as the Red Devils held on to lift the FA Cup trophy.
What’s next for Manchester City?
With the loss, Manchester City’s 2023-24 campaign has ended.
Manchester City is scheduled to play some club friendlies in the upcoming months, with the first one occurring against Celtic on July 21.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST.