Ilkay Gundogan brace sees Manchester City defeat Manchester United to win 2023 FA Cup: Match Report

What followed was a half hour of complete City dominance, keeping the Red Devils firmly contained in their own half as the pass counter went up and up for Pep Guardiola’s team.

Man Utd were handed a lifeline through Jack Grealish’s handball off a Wan-Bissaka cross. After a much delayed VAR call to referee Paul Tierney, the harsh call gave Bruno Fernandes the opportunity to level things up. The Portuguese midfielder’s cool penalty sent Stefan Ortega the wrong way, and Man Utd went into halftime with a glimmer of hope. 

Any such hope was swiftly dashed however, as it was that man Gundogan once again putting Man City back in front not long after play resumed. His effort from outside of the box perhaps a tad more fortunate to get past De Gea, in what was turning into a rather torrid afternoon for the Premier League Golden Glove recipient. 

City pushed to extend their lead, with main man Erling Haaland trying to make the best of the rare opportunities being afforded to him but to no avail. Alejandro Garnacho’s cameo looked promising, as he came close to equalising on a number of occasions for Erik ten Hag’s team. 

With one last throw of the dice, the Dutchman had brought on Wout Weghorst and Scott McTominay to bring a tall physical threat in the dying minutes. And it nearly paid off as the latter’s header went just over the bar following a great save by Ortega on an earlier effort. 

The final whistle soon blew, and Pep Guardiola’s Man City had amassed another trophy to their growing collection: the 13th trophy of the manager’s tenure, City are now officially one step closer to realising their footballing destiny and becoming treble winners. Only Inter Milan in Istanbul stand between them and history.