Manchester United are FA Cup Champions for the 13th time! They beat bitter rivals Manchester City 2-1 at a sunny Wembley stadium, to win the iconic competition once again and end the season on a high note.

First-half goals from academy graduates Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were enough to get United over the line, despite a late scare after Jeremy Doku pulled one back for City in the 87th minute.

Garnacho was somewhat gifted his goal, following a lapse in communication between Stefan Ortega and Josko Gvardiol. The youngster pounced on the loose ball after some good pressure and simply passed it into an open net 30 minutes in.

It was just nine minutes later when Mainoo doubled his side’s lead, capping off a delightful move which included an inch-perfect long pass by Marcus Rashford and a first-time, no-look assist courtesy of Bruno Fernandes. Mainoo slotted cooly past Ortega before celebrating in front of the Man City fans.

United withstood the pressure piled on by City, with Andre Onana making some superb saves to deny Kyle Walker twice. Although he should have stopped Doku’s effort going on, United held on to win the cup.

There were some stellar performances across the board from United, particularly in midfield, where one of their young stars ran the show against City.

Kobbie Mainoo’s game vs Man City in numbers

There were many viable contenders for the official Player of the Match award, but Mainoo was the man who claimed the prize. Aside from his wonderful goal, he put in an excellent performance across the board, and his award was more than justified.

As per Sofaccore, Mainoo’s 31 touches included a completion rate of 84% of his passes on that hallowed Wembley turf, a total of 21 out of 25. He also completed his sole dribble of the game and made one, vital clearance. Plus his winning goal. It was a pivotal performance.

It was such an impressive performance that The Manchester Evening News’ Chief United writer Samuel Luckhurst gave the 19-year-old a 9/10 for his efforts at Wembley. He noted how Mainoo ‘capped a wonderful six months’ during his first full season with United’s first team.

Indeed, it could be the start of a summer to remember for the young midfielder. He is part of England’s 33-man training camp for Euro 2024 and seems destined to make the squad in the summer. It certainly feels like we are witnessing the start of a legendary career.

Bruno Fernandes’ game vs Man City in numbers

Perhaps even better than Mainoo on the day was United’s captain, Fernandes, whose match-winning assist to set up the 19-year-old England international was sublime. The perfectly waited, first-time ball into Mainoo was impressive enough, but he did it without looking; a dream assist in an FA Cup final.

Fernandes actually received one less rating than Mainoo got from Luckhurst, just an 8/10 for the United captain. He explained Fernandes’ performance kept up with ‘his status as Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year’, and described his pass to Mainoo as ‘exquisite’.

It is safe to say that Fernandes’ stats reflected his wonderful performance at Wembley. He has 52 touches of the ball, winning all five of his tackles and an impressive eight of his 11 duels. Most importantly though, Fernandes’ creative influence shone through, creating five chances and one big chance, as well as registering his assist for Mainoo.

It was the perfect end to the season for United’s Player of the Year, continuing his fine late-season form into the biggest day on United fans’ calendars in 2023/24. His focus will now turn to helping Portugal lift Euro 2024.

If that really was Erik ten Hag’s last game as United manager, it was the perfect way to go. He has now won two trophies in his two seasons in charge. He said it himself at full time; winning trophies, “it’s what I do”.

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