Well, well, well, they can’t sack him now, can they? A Kobbie Mainoo artwork worthy of the Tate Modern and a sense of purpose that proved beyond Manchester City. Erik ten Hag promised Manchester United would bring the sunshine, and they did. Sir Jim Ratcliffe in raptures, Sir Alex Ferguson smiling like it was 1999, the champions of England looking on crestfallen as the FA Cup went to United for the 13th time. Whether a club like United winning a trophy at Wembley represented a radical shift in narrative is a funny old thought, but the occasion seemed at least a little more interesting with Cit ..read more

Man City 1-2 Man Utd (Garnacho 30′, Mainoo 39′ | Doku 86′) Manchester United stunned Manchester City to win the FA Cup with a sensational 2-1 victory. First-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo handed Erik ten Hag’s side a deserved win at Wembley and possibly the perfect send-off for the embattled manager. United looked like they were in cruise control for much of the game but Jeremy Doku clawed one back late on to keep it interesting. The build-up to the second successive all-Manchester showpiece was dominated by the Dutchman’s future after a report on Friday claimed he would ..read more

For Manchester United at least, interest in the FA Cup final is focused not on the outcome so much as what it means for coach Erik ten Hag. That might be because the chances of United succeeding against a Manchester City team widely regarded as the finest champions England has ever had, are remote. Or it may reflect the parlous thread by which Ten Hag’s reign hangs after a season of deathly regression. Unless Ten Hag has spent the build-up among the ostrich fraternity he will know in which direction speculation is pointing, namely someone other than he will be rolling out the Ineos vision for ..read more

Manchester United 4-0 Tottenham (Toone 45+3, Williams 54’, Garcia 57’, 74’) WEMBLEY – There is an old black and white photo of Broxbourne Ladies, the side that would become Tottenham Hotspur Women, that tells a story of a club’s journey from grassroots minnows to Wembley finalists. Spurs will be back, but it is Manchester United who have secured immortality – those who eventually obliterated Robert Vilahamn’s side will forever be remembered as the club’s first ever Women’s FA Cup winners. Sir Jim Ratcliffe might be content to miss the big moments, with the Ineos chief to be found 196 miles awa ..read more

At Manchester United Women, where the past is conspicuously murky, at least the future is bright. This is an FA Cup final that would have been unthinkable half a decade ago – in 2019, the Red Devils’ women’s outfit had only been back in existence for a year and Tottenham Hotspur had just won promotion to the Women’s Super League. United are determined to look ahead, not back to that day in 2005 when the Glazers took the momentous decision to abolish the women’s team as they did not deem it part of their “core business interests”. Now, as they bid for a first taste of major silverware a precede ..read more

Four games remain for Mauricio Pochettino to qualify for Europe and save his job — but there could be a twist at the end of the season. Chelsea had been unbeaten in 12 games, but following an FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City and a Premier League thrashing by Arsenal, reports emerged claiming Pochettino must qualify for Europe to stay in charge after a turbulent season. Since then, he has taken four points from two teams in the top five and the remainder of Chelsea’s games look appealing. The top five is out of reach and there are three teams realistically vying for sixth and seventh ..read more

So what is it that we really want football to look like in 2024? It is the question we should return to after a Sunday afternoon where football’s news cycle became a typhoon. And I think the story probably starts at Gateshead FC, a club whose remarkable, expectation-defying season came to an abrupt full stop over the weekend. In case you’re not familiar with the incredible success story that is the Tynesiders, here’s a brief recap. Gateshead are a club that came within hours of extinction in 2019 after they fell into the sort of ownership you wouldn’t wish on your biggest rivals, only rescued ..read more

WEMBLEY STADIUM — At half-time and cruising, one cynic claimed Manchester United had found their level, beating up on a Championship side. He was being ironic, of course, except United proved him right. They had reached their level against a Championship team, needing penalties to progress to the FA Cup final. Let’s see how they cope five weeks hence against the sky blue upgrade that is Manchester City. Just as Coventry had the measure of United on the grass so did their supporters spear Erik ten Hag off it with that gallows anthem “getting sacked in the morning”. They had a point. United had ..read more

Coventry 3-3 Man Utd (2-4 on pens) (Simms 71′ O’Hare 79′, Wright pen 90+3′ | McTominay 23′, Maguire 45+1′, Fernandes 59′) WEMBLEY STADIUM — The FA Cup final will be an all-Manchester affair for the second year running after United survived an almighty scare to progress beyond Coventry and set up a Wembley showdown with Pep Guardiola’s City. United outclassed their Championship counterparts for an hour with goals from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes establishing what looked like an insurmountable lead. We all should have known better. From being in complete control, Erik ten ..read more

Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea (Silva 84′) Pep Guardiola may fear that Manchester City have run out of fuel, but they will never lose their fight. Bernardo Silva will not believe he can atone for that penalty in one go, but scoring a Wembley winner is a good start. A deflected shot from a deflected goal was a fitting denouement to an aesthetically dubious FA Cup semi-final. The Football Association has come under fire this week for the perceived lack of consultation with those outside the financial elite over the scrapping of replays. What it needed was a PR shot in the arm. And fair play, nobody ..read more