Pep Guardiola has shared his verdict on Manchester City’s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United.
In their final match of the season, the Citizens were denied the chance to win a consecutive domestic double as they lost 2-1 to the Red Devils at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup final.
Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo put the Old Trafford outfit 2-0 up in the first half to stun the Premier League champions.
An 87th-minute strike from Jeremy Doku only ended up being a consolation goal for the Blues as they missed out on the chance to add even more silverware to their cabinet and increase the bragging rights over United.
After the game, the City manager shared his thoughts on the match to the media, starting with a clear answer regarding how he thought his side performed in comparison to their opponents on this occasion.
Guardiola insists City were better than United in FA Cup final
Speaking to the BBC (via BBC Sport), Guardiola had this to say when asked if he thought United were better than his City side on the day.
He said: “No. The second half we were there all the game. Manchester United are always a transition team.
“First half we struggled a bit but second half we were better. In general, it was a good performance for a final.”
A poor first half cost City the final
Across the 90 minutes, City had 74% possession and more shots on goal than Erik ten Hag’s side (19 vs 11).
However, United had more shots on target than the league champions (5 vs 4).
In terms of their overall team performances, City walked away with a rating of 6.95/10 from SofaScore, whereas United fell slightly behind with a rating of 6.92/10.
Having conceded the first goal due to a mix-up between Josko Gvardiol and Stefan Ortega and then responding to that by conceding another goal just nine minutes later, it’s clear that it was this period in the first half that gave City a mountain to climb in the second period and ultimately led to them losing this final.
