Loyal fans know: English football is top, regardless of whether it is the Premier League, cup competitions or even the Championship. However, those matches in which the fate of titles are decided are always of particular interest. It is not surprising that the FA Cup final traditionally attracts attention: even if not the most famous teams make it there, they have come such a way that it simply cannot but command respect.
In the 23/24 season, the final of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in existence, is also interesting because as part of it, fans will see a juicy Manchester derby. Even though the opponents are now in different weight categories, in one match the underdog is always capable of producing an impressive result. The game is scheduled for May 25, and if you want to place a bet, visit Mostbet.com UZ.
An interesting fact for starters: last season the same teams played in the final, and then City took the trophy, winning with a score of 2:1. However, something else is more impressive: the previous time the same pair of finalists played twice in a row was in the mid-1880s! If the Citizens defend the title, then the Red Devils have their own motivation: they are hungry for revenge, especially since this is their last opportunity to take the title this year.
In the 2019 season, Manchester United faced an opponent from the Premier League for the first time in the form of Nottingham Forest. Here the Mancunians did not have much of an advantage during the game, and even risked extending the confrontation into extra time, but in the 89th minute there was a late goal by Casemiro – 0:1, United moved on.
In the quarter-finals, the draw pitted Manchester United against Liverpool itself, and it was the Merseysiders who looked like the clear favorites of that match. However, the home stadium factor helped a lot – the game looked equal, and the hosts saved themselves twice. Having opened the scoring in the 10th minute, they were 1:2 at the break, but managed to send the game into extra time thanks to a goal scored in the 87th minute. In the first extra-half, the Reds took the lead, but in the second the Mancunians scored two – the decisive one flew into the goal of Klopp’s team just before the whistle. Total 4:3!
After such a test, the semi-final with Coventry from the Championship should have looked like a cakewalk, but the Mancunians decided that the cup should become more and more difficult with each round. Leading 0:3 after an hour of play, the Red Devils managed to squander their advantage, conceding the third goal in the 95th minute. The extra times did not bring any changes to the scoreboard, and only in the penalty shootout were they able to put the squeeze on the opponent.
In total, Manchester United beat two Premier League opponents and three from the lower leagues. The team scored 14 goals and missed 8. With each match, advancing to the next round became more and more difficult, but that’s how it should be in cup tournaments.
Thus, Man City’s draw was noticeably more difficult than that of the Red Devils: they had to defeat four opponents from the Premier League (two were fighters for the European Cup zone), and only one was from the Championship, without representatives of the lower leagues. At the same time, the statistics of Guardiola’s gang look more optimistic: they scored 15 and conceded only 2, and only from Luton.
Manchester United: Road to The Final
As a Premier League team, United began their pursuit of the trophy from the third round of the main draw as early as January. Wigan, which is now the middle peasant of League 1, did not offer much resistance to the Mancunians – conceding one goal in each half, they lost 0:2. League Two’s Newport County, drawn in the fourth round, should have been easier opponents on paper and were already 0-2 down after the first quarter of an hour. However, the hosts gathered their thoughts and shocked the guests by equalizing the score at the beginning of the second half. Manchester United, however, had their own plans for this game – they knocked in a couple more and won 2:4.
In the 2019 season, Manchester United faced an opponent from the Premier League for the first time in the form of Nottingham Forest. Here the Mancunians did not have much of an advantage during the game, and even risked extending the confrontation into extra time, but in the 89th minute there was a late goal by Casemiro – 0:1, United moved on.
In the quarter-finals, the draw pitted Manchester United against Liverpool itself, and it was the Merseysiders who looked like the clear favorites of that match. However, the home stadium factor helped a lot – the game looked equal, and the hosts saved themselves twice. Having opened the scoring in the 10th minute, they were 1:2 at the break, but managed to send the game into extra time thanks to a goal scored in the 87th minute. In the first extra-half, the Reds took the lead, but in the second the Mancunians scored two – the decisive one flew into the goal of Klopp’s team just before the whistle. Total 4:3!
After such a test, the semi-final with Coventry from the Championship should have looked like a cakewalk, but the Mancunians decided that the cup should become more and more difficult with each round. Leading 0:3 after an hour of play, the Red Devils managed to squander their advantage, conceding the third goal in the 95th minute. The extra times did not bring any changes to the scoreboard, and only in the penalty shootout were they able to put the squeeze on the opponent.
In total, Manchester United beat two Premier League opponents and three from the lower leagues. The team scored 14 goals and missed 8. With each match, advancing to the next round became more and more difficult, but that’s how it should be in cup tournaments.
Manchester City: Road to The Final
The townspeople also started from the third round, and their first opponent was Huddersfield, who were fighting for survival in the Championship. The fight, however, did not work out at all – the guests scored five, but they were unable to counter anything. The football gods probably thought that City had it too easy in the previous game, so in the fourth round the City lost to unyielding Tottenham. Spurs were not particularly eager to attack, and Guardiola’s team was unable to crack the layered defense for a long time, until Nathan Ake scored the only goal in the 88th minute. In the ⅛, the opponent was again from the Premier League, but much more modest. Luton could have been beaten easily even on the road, but the Mancunians thought it right to organize a real football festival – they scored six themselves and allowed the hosts to score twice. Haaland should remember this day: no matter how great a scorer he was, a penta-trick was a big event. In the quarterfinals, Newcastle tried to compete with the City residents, which has not yet been able to fully convert Arab petrodollars into impressive results. The potential super club conceded twice in the first half hour thanks to the efforts of Bernardo Silva – this is how the final score took shape. City faced Chelsea in the semi-final – not so long ago this would have been a big deal, but the current Aristocrats seem a pale shadow of their former selves. To their credit, in this particular game they resisted with dignity, and conceded the only goal only towards the end of the second half.
Thus, Man City’s draw was noticeably more difficult than that of the Red Devils: they had to defeat four opponents from the Premier League (two were fighters for the European Cup zone), and only one was from the Championship, without representatives of the lower leagues. At the same time, the statistics of Guardiola’s gang look more optimistic: they scored 15 and conceded only 2, and only from Luton.
