FA Cup
Man United desperate to stop Man City’s treble march in unique FA Cup final
All roads from Manchester lead to Wembley Stadium on Saturday for the first ever FA Cup final between the city’s arch-rivals — a fitting climax to the domestic season and a clash loaded with significance for both clubs.
For Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, a first FA Cup triumph since 2019 would put them one game away from repeating Manchester United’s treble of 1999 — to date the only season in which a club won the English title, FA Cup and Champions League.
For United it represents the chance to add the FA Cup to the League Cup they won in February — a domestic cup double they have never achieved before. Having also finished third in the Premier League, would represent an impressive first season at the helm for Dutch coach Erik ten Hag.
Another trophy is motivation enough for United, but stopping City’s march towards a treble that could be sealed a week later in Istanbul against Inter Milan will fuel their hunger.
“We will give everything and, when I say everything, it’s everything… the fans can rely on that,” Ten Hag, who has blossomed after a tough start at Old Trafford, said in the wake of his side’s semi-final win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
City have won a treble before under Guardiola — sweeping all the domestic honours in 2019 when they thrashed Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final. But repeating United’s 1999 feat would rubber-stamp City as the best football team in the world.
It would also make redundant a favourite anthem of United’s fans, one they gleefully sing to remind City’s faithful that they have never won the historic treble that Alex Ferguson’s side completed 24 years ago.
City’s domination of the English landscape is such that United’s bragging rights are severely diminished these days, although in terms of FA Cup wins there is still a chasm between the clubs with United seeking a 13th and City a seventh.
United have also won five of their last six FA Cup meetings with City but the last of those came in January 2012.
City, driven by the chance of sporting immortality, will start favourites on Saturday in the 142nd edition of the showpiece final, although Guardiola will be wary of a United side they lost to 2-1 in February, avenging a 6-3 mauling at the hands of their neighbours in October.
The fact they ended the Premier League season with a draw and a defeat, having already wrapped up their fifth title in six seasons, will offer United some room for optimism but Guardiola’s side will deserve all the plaudits that flood their way if they win their next two games, according to United’s treble-winning defender Gary Neville.
“Do I want City to win the treble? No! No! No, I don’t. Nobody wants City to win the treble if you’re a Manchester United fan,” Neville said in The Times.
“For me, (Guardiola) would be a worthy companion to Sir Alex and his players would be worthy companions of our Manchester United treble team. Fingers crossed they lose though!”
With tens of thousands of fans descending on the capital and with rail strikes expected, the unique final will pose a logistical challenge, with the Met Police saying on Thursday that 1,000 officers will be on duty.
“Of course this is also a derby match, and we are alive to the added significance — and challenges — this may bring,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said.
-Reuters
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to cruise into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly, their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
In the other quarter-finals, Chelsea take on Port Vale and Southampton host Arsenal later on Saturday, with Leeds United travelling to West Ham United on Sunday.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley, and Haaland is relishing a return to the stadium.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then we after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” he told broadcaster TNT.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
-Reuters
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Arsenal will be without injured England attacker Noni Madueke when they face Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, but Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber may return from injury, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Madueke was among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty last month over injuries and fitness management, as the club eye their first Premier League title since 2004.
“When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team. Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”
Madueke picked up a knee injury during England’s friendly with Uruguay, missing the game against Japan. But Arteta said his condition was not as bad as a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks.
Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Timber, Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were unavailable for their countries.
Arteta did not disclose how many of them will be available for Saturday’s game, as Arsenal look to shake off last month’s League Cup final loss to Manchester City with a return to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We’re in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition,” he said. ” We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
-Reuters
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Manchester City will look to secure a historic eighth straight semi-final appearance in the FA Cup when they face Liverpool on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola said.
City beat Arsenal to win the League Cup before the international break, and Guardiola is hoping his team maintain the momentum as they fight to add the FA Cup and Premier League to this season’s trophy haul.
“Once you finish one, it is the next one,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“Tomorrow we have the chance to reach an incredible milestone, to make eight semi-finals in a row. It’s never happened… it is a prestigious competition, and one of the toughest, special opponents for all of us, Liverpool.”
City have dominated English football with six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups since Guardiola joined in 2016, but Liverpool have been a constant thorn in his side throughout his coaching career.
As a coach, Guardiola has only nine victories and seven draws in 26 matches against Liverpool, his worst win rate against a Premier League club.
City have beaten Liverpool twice in the Premier League this season, but had to dig deep for a late comeback when they won 2-1 at Anfield in February.
“So many times they have been the rival, the biggest, biggest one… top contender, top class players, all of them. Hopefully we have to perform in the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step,” Guardiola said.
The manager also praised Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has announced his departure in the summer.
“Absolutely. One of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency. What a player… absolute legend, of course for Liverpool, but (also) for the Premier League,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola, however, avoided commenting on his own midfielder Rodri, who said he was open to a move to Real Madrid when his contract with City runs out at the end of this season.
“No clue, no opinion… because I know the intention of the club, I know the intention, I think, of him, but I don’t know,” Guardiola said.’
-Reuters
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