FA Cup
Hag and Guardiola boast ahead of a unique FA Cup final
Saturday sees the first-ever meeting of local rivals Manchester City and Manchester United in an FA Cup Final when the clubs face off at Wembley to decide the 2023 champions.
The clash also means that all England’s major cups will be in Manchester as Manchester United had earlier won the League Cup (Carabao) while city rivals, Manchester City are the Premier League champions.
What ever the outcome, the FA Cup shall be won by a team in Manchester. Both managers, Erik ten Hag and Pep Guardiola had worked together at German sides, Bayern Munich.
Ahead of this Saturday’s clash, both manager bared their minds in the official programme of the FA Cup final. Hear them:
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola:
”This competition is so special. It’s the most historic domestic cup competition in the world. When we won this trophy in 2019, I can honestly say it was one of my favourite moments as City manager.
“We want to win it again and I can promise you we will do everything we can to try and make that happen.
”We are playing a top team today; we know this and we are ready. Manchester United know how to win and we will have to fight for absolutely everything today.
“However, I trust my players and I can see it in their eyes: they want to win this trophy.
”To be here as Premier League champions is amazing for us. To win the title five times in six years is something very special.
“We try to be consistent and work hard every day, but I never imagined we could win five in six, especially in this country where the standard is so high. Every single week it is so tough and so demanding.
“The consistency my players have shown is extraordinary, and I’m incredibly proud of all of them. I am the luckiest manager in the world!
”And next week we have a Champions League final to look forward to. To be playing Inter in Istanbul in the final of Europe’s most beautiful competition is going to be amazing for this football club”
.
Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag:
”Our aim today is the same as always: win the game. You do not fight through round after round to reach cup finals just so you can enjoy a nice day out; once you reach one then you have to give every single bit of your energy to make sure you leave Wembley with the trophy.
”This is a fantastic opportunity for this group of players and staff to win our second piece of silverware and create a new moment of history for this great football club.
“If we stick to our gameplan, follow our own rules and draw extra strength from our amazing supporters, then I have every confidence that we can achieve our aim today and take another big step forward in our journey together.
”The strong bond that has developed between this team and our fans is one of the most pleasing things about the season, and this connection will be more important than ever at Wembley as we contest the Emirates FA Cup Final with Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
”We know that we will have to be at our very best against an excellent opponent.
“We have already shown that we are capable of this, because our Premier League win over City in January was one of our best performances so far this season. So, we know what is required, we know the standards we have to reach.
”I can say with certainty that Pep will not be expecting an easy fixture this afternoon because we have shown repeatedly that we have the ability to cause problems for every team.”
Arsenal survived a genuine scare in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday as they edged past spirited third-tier Mansfield Town 2-1, with Eberechi Eze’s thunderbolt sending the Premier League leaders into the quarter-finals.
Noni Madueke gave Arsenal the lead going into halftime at Field Mill, but Will Evans equalised for Nigel Clough’s Mansfield before Eze scored in the 66th minute to ensure the top-flight side progressed to the last eight.
“Happy to score. I had the space and the opportunity to shoot. So I took it,” Eze told TNT Sports.
“It was a difficult environment to play in. But we did what we had to do and we are through to the next round, which is the important thing.”
Mikel Arteta named a much-changed side, starting teenagers Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, as Arsenal became the first Premier League side to start a competitive game with two players aged 16 or under in any competition.
However, Arteta’s changes nearly backfired as the hosts, feeding off a raucous home crowd, gave Arsenal a genuine fright with aggressive pressing and infectious energy that clearly unsettled the visitors.
“Before the game, the gaffer said, ‘Have a go. We were not expected to win the game, so have a go and enjoy it,” Mansfield forward Rhys Oates said.
“We created more chances than we thought we could, and we have given them a game.”
Dowman, Arsenal’s youngest-ever FA Cup player at 16, emerged as a lively attacking threat as the top-flight side gradually found their rhythm before Madueke broke the deadlock in the 41st minute.
Madueke, who had an initial shot saved, curled a powerful finish into the far corner to give Arsenal their 100th goal of the season in all competitions.
Clough brought on Evans for the second half, and the Welsh striker made an immediate impact, netting five minutes after coming on.
The 28-year-old wrong-footed a second-guessing Cristhian Mosquera before finishing past Kepa Arrizabalaga in Arsenal’s goal.
“It’s typical, isn’t it? For me to have a league goal drought and then come on for a half against Arsenal and have a goal against them,” Evans said.
Arsenal were rattled but recovered and found the winner when substitute Eze made space for himself and fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box to silence the crowd at Field Mill and keep Arsenal’s quadruple bid on track.
-Reuters
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Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Pedro struck in extra time to secure a nervy 4–2 win over second‑tier Wrexham and reach the FA Cup quarter‑finals on Saturday as the Premier League giants escaped from the Racecourse Ground after a tough battle.
Garnacho volleyed home from close range in the 97th minute with such force that the ball ricocheted off the back stanchion to give Chelsea the lead for the first time on the night.
Wrexham — who lost George Dobson to a 93rd-minute red card — thought they had equalised deep into added time in the extra period when Lewis Brunt headed home, but he was offside. Pedro then sealed Chelsea’s win with a fine goal in the 125th minute.
Sam Smith had put the Championship side ahead in the 18th when he sprinted onto Callum Doyle’s long pass, took a touch and fired past Robert Sanchez. Chelsea equalised with a huge slice of luck when George Thomason’s attempt to clear Garnacho’s shot struck goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo and rolled in.
Wrexham went back in front after 78 minutes when Doyle diverted the ball past Sanchez after Ryan Longman fired it back into the area from a corner. But Josh Acheampong equalised soon after with a blistering shot into the roof of the net after Dobson slipped to send the game into extra time.
-Reuters
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Arsenal will visit League One Mansfield Town, while Manchester City travel to Newcastle United in a mouth-watering all-Premier League tie following the FA Cup fifth round draw on Monday.
Third-tier Mansfield stunned top-flight strugglers Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor on Saturday and have been rewarded with a clash against 14-time winners and Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola’s City face Newcastle in a repeat of one of this season’s League Cup semi-finals, while Premier League bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers host Liverpool.
Brentford head to West Ham United after an own goal away to sixth-tier Macclesfield, who stunned holders Crystal Palace in the last round, giving them a 1-0 win on Monday.
Championship side Wrexham welcome eight-time winners Chelsea, while Fulham entertain Southampton and Leeds United host another second-tier side in Norwich City.
Sunderland face a second successive away trip after being drawn against Port Vale or Bristol City, whose fourth-round tie has been postponed until March 3 due to a waterlogged pitch.
FA Cup fifth round draw
- Fulham v Southampton
- Port Vale or Bristol City v Sunderland
- Newcastle United v Manchester City
- Leeds United v Norwich City
- Mansfield Town v Arsenal
- Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool
- Wrexham v Chelsea
- West Ham United v Brentford
Matches to be played over the weekend of March 7–8
-Reuters
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