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FA Cup: first final between Manchester rivals promises to be historic

FA Cup: first final between Manchester rivals promises to be historic

The decision of FA Cup – which will take place this Saturday, at 11 am (Brasília time) – will put Manchester’s two biggest players face to face. On the one hand, the City, seeking the treble after securing a place in the Champions League final and winning the Premier League. On the other, the Unitedwinner of the League Cup and trying to get back to the glory days.

Although the classic has 142 years of history, this will be the first time that rivals face each other in a decision. While United is one of the greatest champions of the competition, with 12 titles and eight runners-up, City has grown in recent years and reaches its 12th final, with six titles so far.

The data from choose show that the match does not have a clear favorite and has everything to be balanced. Check out some of the facts about the two teams before the highly anticipated clash.

Manchester City’s stellar performance

Since February 5th, when it was defeated by 1-0 against Tottenham, City has reformulated its tactical formation in the matches and has been winning victory after victory. Guardiola has been playing with four defenders and no wingers: three defenders start the play at the back, while John Stones goes up and forms a midfielder duo with Rodri.

The change gave more balance to the team, being reflected mainly in the defensive sector. Even with Ederson on the bench and Ortega under the posts, City have not conceded a goal in the FA Cup so far. The last club to achieve this feat and lift the trophy was Bury in 1903.

Already in the attack, Haaland is managing to play his role as a scorer. The Norwegian already has 52 goals in the season, three of them in the game against Burnley, for the quarterfinals of the tournament. In addition, the striker broke the record for the most goals in a single edition of the Premier League, scoring 36 times.

Another hero candidate is Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian was on the pitch and scored in City’s last FA Cup decision in 2019 (6-0 against Watford). If he scores again, the player will become the second in club history to score in the final in two different editions.

Manchester United have a good record

After several sacked coaches, United finally seem to have found a boss in Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman has already managed to lift the English League Cup in his first season and is doing one of the most solid jobs since Sir’s retirement. Alex Ferguson.

Trying to pave a way back to the golden years, the Red Devils have good results against City for the tournament. United have won five of their last six matches against their rivals in the FA Cup. The last of them was in January 2012, when they won 3-2 away from home.

If it reaches its 13th title, the team will achieve an unprecedented feat in its history: winning the country’s two cups in the same season. The only teams to do this were Arsenal (1992-93), Liverpool (2000-01 and 2021-22), Chelsea (2006-07) and Manchester City itself (2018-19).

For that, United will count on the decision-making power of Marcus Rashford. The striker has been making the difference for the team since the World Cup and has scored 30 goals and 11 assists in 55 games. It’s the Englishman’s best season for the club that has been revealed.

How was the campaign of the two teams?

Manchester City’s path to the final was not an easy one. The team went through with a 4-0 thrashing against Arsenal in the third round and a 1-0 triumph against Chelsea in the fourth.

In the following rounds, Guardiola’s charges were able to impose themselves: in the round of 16, 3-0 against Bristol City. In the quarterfinals, a ruthless 6-0 at Burnley, leader of the English second division. Finally, another 3-0, this time against Sheffield United, to guarantee a place in the decision.

United, on the other hand, repeated the same score in almost all clashes. The team won 3-1 against Everton (third round), Reading (fourth round), West Ham (round of 16) and Fulham (quarter-final).

The only time the result was not repeated was in the semi-final against Brighton. At the time, the Manchester club was 0-0 in normal time and managed to pass with a 7-6 victory on penalties, without missing any kicks.


Source: Gazetaesportiva

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