This video can not be played FA Cup 2024: Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City highlights Ten Hag spent the build-up to this final showpiece against all-conquering arch-rivals Manchester City shrouded in speculation that this would be his final game, a dead manager walking, simply waiting for new United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to give him the final shove over the precipice. Manchester City were here to inflict the last humiliation on him before departure, to deliver the final blow and see a beleaguered figure on his way. Instead, in one of those delicious twists sport so often delivers, Ten Hag produced a tactical masterclass to beat Manchester City 2-1, the Dutchman hoisted off his feet in wild celebration at the final whistle by warrior defender Lisandro Martinez before moving to share that rarest of experiences, offering the hand of consolation to a beaten Pep Guardiola.
The scale of United's achievement when the pressure was at its highest for the manager and players is that this was City’s first loss, apart from a penalty shootout against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final, since they lost at Aston Villa on 6 December. Whether this makes any difference to Old Trafford’s decision makers, led by Ratcliffe, remains to be seen but for all his suffering and the criticism he has had – much of it justified after such a dismal season – Ten Hag rightly enjoyed this moment in the Wembley sun. This video can not be played FA Cup final: Erik Ten Hag 'doesn.
