The FA Cup 2024 final will see a Manchester derby in a replay of last year’s final, where Premier League champion Manchester City beat its arch-rival 2-1 to lift the title and move closer to a historic treble (which it later did after beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final). Manchester United, the only English club to win the treble, had a chance to stop its ‘noisy neighbour’ from achieving the same feat in the 2022-23 season by thwarting them in the FA Cup title clash. However, the Red Devils had the worst possible start after Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring after just 12 seconds, becoming the fastest scorer in FA Cup final history - a record previously held by Everton Louis Saha (scored after 25 seconds) in the 2009 Cup final, where the Toffees lost 2-1 to Chelsea.
Gundogan took the lead in prime fashion with a right-footed volley from just outside the penalty area. Pep Guardiola’s men were eager to capitalise on the lead and had a chance soon after the opener. Kevin de Bruyne’s freekick inside the box was narrowly headed wide by Rodri.
Haaland too, got a chance to double the lead, but his shot drifted just above the goal. These missed chances gave United some confidence, and it began to push for an equaliser. It kept good spells of possession, and the efforts bore fruit when VAR confirmed that the ball had struck Jack Grealish’s hands inside the area.
Bruno Fernandes stepped up and successfully converted the spot kick to make it 1-1 in the 33rd.
