Manchester United Lift FA Cup As Erik Ten Hag Ticks One Off His ...

Manchester United's Dutch manager Erik ten Hag (R) and Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder #08 ... [+] Bruno Fernandes hold the trophy as they celebrate their victory at the end of the English FA Cup final football match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley stadium, in London, on May 25, 2024. Manchester United wins 2 - 1 against Manchester City. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP) / NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

No one quite knows how they did it. Having narrowly defeated Liverpool in memorable fashion in extra time in the quarterfinals, and then needing a penalty shootout to get past Championship side Coventry in the semifinals (after giving up a three-goal lead, no less) Manchester United are somehow the FA Cup winners.

It’s all the more unbelievable because they managed to win the final against a City side that had looked unstoppable in recent weeks as it charged to a fourth consecutive English Premier League title. The expectation was that this would be an additional domestic trophy to round off another dominant season for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Instead, as against Liverpool, United found something when nothing was expected or predicted of them. The odds prior to the game of them winning were those that might be expected of a lower division team facing Premier League opposition.

Scott McTominay spoke on the pitch after the game of the team never lacking self-belief, despite the lack of belief in them from outside. It would be easy for them to do so after a below-par season in which they finished eighth in the league with a negative goal difference.

But United also had a plan to go with this belief, put in place by Erik ten Hag, using the wide players as attacking threats.

As Ten Hag embraced his players one by one after the final whistle, some of it felt like a goodbye and thanks for the memories amid the celebrations after it emerged that the Dutchman would leave the club after this game.

There was a big cheer for the manager as he climbed the stairs, leading his team to collect their winners medals, touching the cup as he walked past it, before captain Bruno Fernandes lifted the trophy which glistened amid confetti in the late afternoon London sun.

"The FA Cup was absolutely one on my bucket list," Ten Hag said after the game. "It's such a huge trophy, and I'm so happy we won this trophy with these players and staff—a real team performance."

Guardiola admitted he got his tactics wrong in the first half. He didn’t go into too much detail on the specifics, but said his players were not in the right positions to attack United, and that this was his mistake.

United, meanwhile, played without a true centre-forward. Fernandes was the central player often stationed furthest forward but was more an attacking midfielder than false nine or deep-lying forward.

McTominay regularly joined him, forming a strike partnership slightly deeper than might normally be seen in a traditional 4-4-2 formation. This was more 4-2-4 when United attacked, but the wide players were key.

Marcus Rashford on the left and Alejandro Garnacho on the right were the main source of go-forward for Ten Hag’s side.

They were the attacking intent for a United team that saw little of the ball, but that intent, and the potential threat it provided, was enough to produce two first-half goals.

The first came from a City error, but it was in some part forced by Garnacho who hassled Josko Gvardiol after a Diogo Dalot pass was launched hopefully behind the City defence.

As Gvardiol and his goalkeeper Stefan Ortega came closer together, it became increasingly unclear which one of the two would deal with the situation. Gvardiol decided to head the ball, sending it past Ortega and leaving Garnacho with a tap-in

On United's left side, Rashford struggled to outpace his compatriot Kyle Walker. Even at 33 Walker remains one of the quickest covering defenders around and regularly got the better of Rashford in one-versus-one footraces.

Rashford was effective in other ways, though. When Garnacho sprung in behind the City defence, Rashford was on hand to score from a square pass. On this occasion, his movement outdid Walker’s pace. The offside flag went up and the goal was disallowed, but it was the perfect example of United’s attacking plan.

Even more perfectly executed was the second goal. Rashford launched a cross-field pass to Garnacho—another example of the Englishman’s usefulness in this system. Garnacho than burst forward, carrying the ball upfield, dragging the rest of his team forward with him.

He picked out Fernandes on the edge of the box, and just when it looked like the Portuguese would let off one of his trademark long shots, he instead found Kobbie Mainoo in space and the 19-year-old midfielder finished a seasoned striker. United fans celebrated wildly at the other end.

Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo scores their sides second goal of the game during the Emirates FA ... [+] Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday May 25, 2024. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)

Jérémy Doku came on at halftime for City, giving them a threat on the left wing they had not had in the first half. A move to fix the first half tactics Guardiola later admitted were broken.

In quick succession Doku set up chances for Phil Foden and Erling Haaland—one mis-kicked, the other hitting the bar. City suddenly had a way to goal, and Doku’s battle with Aaron Wan-Bissaka demoted Rashford versus Walker to the undercard.

Walker tested Onana from distance, producing a good save from the Cameroonian, while substitute Julián Álvarez missed two good chances. City looked more like City, but there was pressure on them to score. The freedom they often play with was not evident. This told in their finishing, which was as wayward as their first-half defensive play.

City lacked the cutting edge that had seen them score 96 goals in the Premier League this season—more than any other team—including six across their two league games against United.

The goal that did arrive for City involved, predictably, some individual play from Doku and, unpredictably, an error from United goalkeeper Onana who will have expected to save the shot but let it sneak past him low at the near post.

As they had done in their quarterfinal against Liverpool, which will be even more memorable for United fans having now won the final, Ten Hag’s team engineered a situation that allowed them to win the game, and in the process were able to upset a stronger more in-form opponent.

It might not save Ten Hag's job at United, but it means if he does leave, he leaves on a high, and with plenty of goodwill from supporters and players alike.