With a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday due to Ilkay Gundogan’s two goals, Manchester City came closer to completing a historic triple.
12 seconds into the game’s opening kickoff, City captain Gundogan set a record by scoring the FA Cup final’s quickest goal ever.
In the 33rd minute, Bruno Fernandes’ penalty brought United even against the odds as they sought to win both domestic cups in the same season for the first time and torpedo City’s chances of replicating their own historic triple from 1999.
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Seven minutes after the break, though, Gundogan gave City the advantage back with another volley, and Pep Guardiola’s team held off some late pressure to win the cup for a record-setting seventh time.
Next Saturday’s Champions League final pits the Premier League champions against Inter Milan, and a win would tie them with Manchester United’s treble from the 1998–1999 campaign.
Wembley was decorated in red and sky blue as the clubs competed for trophies, rather than just bragging rights, for the first time in 190 encounters.
Before the smoke from the pre-game fireworks had even dissipated, City took the lead in a stunning way.
Keeper Stefan Ortega punted the ball far toward Erling Haaland, and when it fell into Gundogan’s path, he hit a dipping right-foot volley over David de Gea, who was frozen in place.
It beat Louis Saha’s 25-second goal for Everton against Chelsea in the 2009 FA Cup final for the FA Cup’s quickest goal ever, and City threatened to riot.
In the first five minutes, during which United hardly touched the ball, Rodri and Jack Grealish both missed golden opportunities. Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne both came close for City before United received an unexpected gift.
When United right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka seemed to head a harmless diagonal ball over the area, referee Paul Tierney was told to look at a pitch side monitor for a potential handball by Grealish.
Tierney nodded to the spot, and Fernandes calmly moved up to send Ortega the wrong way with his penalty, much to the unfortunate Grealish’s dismay and the joy of the hundreds of red-clad United supporters at the east end of the stadium.
As halftime drew near, it energized United, and Raphael Varane volleyed over from a corner.
It took City a little bit longer in the second half to reestablish their supremacy, and Gundogan once more showed his talent for scoring vital goals.
De Bruyne’s deflected pass this time allowed the German to be found, and his left-foot volley floated through a packed area and inside De Gea’s right-hand post despite not being quite as accurate as his first effort.
As the clock wound down, City started to appear nervous. United’s substitute Alejandro Garnacho curled a shot agonizingly wide, and in stoppage time, a goalmouth scramble resulted in the ball bouncing off City’s crossbar. Gundogan was denied a hat-trick by an offside flag.