2023-24 FA Cup · The Final
2024 FA Cup Final: Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City
The FA's own preview had already counted the precedent: sides finishing eighth or lower had met that season's champions in a final six times, won once, and lost the other five without scoring a goal between them.
Manchester United finished eighth, expected to lose their manager whatever happened, and beat the champions at Wembley to win the FA Cup for the thirteenth time.
Saturday 25 May 2024 · Wembley Stadium
What you will not find elsewhere
The FA had already counted how unlikely this was, and almost nobody quoted it
The standard framing of 2024 is that a club in disarray beat the champions in a derby. The FA's own Opta-supplied preview, published three days before kick-off, put a number on it. There had been six previous occasions of a side finishing eighth or lower facing that season's champions in the final. Aston Villa, tenth, beat Manchester United in 1957. Every one of the other five lost, and the aggregate score of those five finals was 15-0: not one goal scored between them. The Wikipedia article records only that United were the lowest-ranked winner since Arsenal in 2020, which measures the winner and not the matchup. The 15-0 is the figure that measures the upset, and it sat in a preview nobody went back to.[2][7]
Two routes to Wembley, added up
Take the five ties each club played to get there, which this page lists in full, and total them. Manchester City won their five by an aggregate of 15-2, never trailing at the end of a tie and never needing extra time. Manchester United won theirs by 14-8, needing extra time against Liverpool in the quarter-final, extra time and then a penalty shoot-out against Coventry City in the semi-final. City conceded two goals across the whole competition before the final; United conceded eight. The side that had let in four times as many on the way to Wembley is the side that won it, and then conceded only once more.[7][2]
A first in the competition's history that is about the managers, not the clubs
The line every preview carried was the first repeat final since 1885. That record belongs to the clubs. The FA's preview also recorded a separate first, and it went almost unrepeated: with Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag meeting in the showpiece for a second year, this was the first time a pair of league managers had gone head-to-head in more than one FA Cup final, replays excluded. Blackburn Rovers and Queen's Park in 1884 and 1885 supply the fixture precedent; nothing supplies the managerial one. The Wikipedia article carries the club record and not this.[2][7]
The FA's own prize schedule pays nothing at all for three rounds of the competition
The FA publishes a one-page prize fund for each season, and the 2023-24 sheet states the final winners' payment as 2,000,000 pounds and the runners-up' as 1,000,000. Read the whole page and a structural oddity appears that nothing else frames. A losing club is paid at every one of the six qualifying rounds, down to 375 pounds for losing an extra preliminary round tie. From the first round proper onwards the sheet lists winners only, and the next losers' payment does not appear until the semi-final. A club knocked out in the fourth round proper, the fifth round proper or the quarter-final of the FA Cup receives nothing at all for that tie, while a club knocked out in August receives 375 pounds.[5]
The FA had already counted the precedent, and buried it in a preview
Three days before the match the FA published its own key stats. Sides finishing eighth or lower had reached a final against that season's champions six times, won once, and lost all five finals by an aggregate score of 15-0. United arrived as the seventh such side, thirty-one points behind City, and won. The number sits in a preview nobody went back to after the whistle.[2][1]
The footage
The match report
The 2024 final was the second Manchester derby staged at Wembley in successive Mays, and only the second time in the competition's history that the same fixture had been played in the final in consecutive years. The FA's own preview, drawing on Opta's records, named the single precedent: Blackburn Rovers against Queen's Park in 1884 and 1885. This was the 143rd final.[2][7]
Nothing in the build-up pointed towards what happened. Manchester City had clinched a fourth successive league title the week before and had beaten United twice in the Premier League that season. United had finished eighth, their lowest position since the Premier League was formed in 1992, and the FA's own match report put them 31 points behind the champions. Press reporting before the match said the club had already decided to dismiss Erik ten Hag whatever the result.[2][1][7]
The FA's preview had also measured the gap in a way almost none of the coverage repeated. A side finishing eighth or lower had reached a final against that season's champions on six previous occasions. Aston Villa won one of them, in 1957. The other five were all defeats, and the aggregate score of those five was 15-0. United arrived as the seventh such side, 67 years after the only one that had ever won.[2]
The match turned inside nine minutes of the first half, and on two City errors rather than anything United built. On 30 minutes Diogo Dalot lifted a long ball forward, Josko Gvardiol tried to head it back to a badly advanced Stefan Ortega, the header looped over him, and Alejandro Garnacho rolled it into an empty net. On 37 minutes United had the ball in the net again through Marcus Rashford and were flagged offside. On 39 minutes they cut City open properly: Rashford's cross-field pass to Garnacho, Garnacho's ball inside to Bruno Fernandes, and a first-time flick from the captain into the path of Kobbie Mainoo, who drove it low across Ortega.[1][7][8]
Garnacho and Mainoo became the first teenagers to score in an FA Cup final since Cristiano Ronaldo did it for United in 2004. Mainoo was booked before the interval, played the whole match in the deeper of United's two central midfield roles, and was named man of the match.[7][8]
Pep Guardiola reset at half-time, sending on Jeremy Doku for Mateo Kovacic and Manuel Akanji for Nathan Ake, and City spent the rest of the afternoon laying siege. Doku's cut-back on 54 minutes was scuffed wide by Phil Foden; his pass a minute later found Erling Haaland, whose shot hit the crossbar. Kyle Walker forced Andre Onana into saves from distance on 59 and 77 minutes. Julian Alvarez, on for Kevin De Bruyne, shot over on 61 minutes and then slid one wide of the far post on 64.[1][7][8]
Doku scored himself on 87 minutes, drifting in from the left wing and beating Onana at his near post from outside the box. Seven minutes were added at the end and City did not create another clear opening in them. Ten Hag became the first manager to beat Guardiola's Manchester City in a major domestic cup final.[1][7][8]
The consequences ran past the trophy. It was United's 13th FA Cup, one short of Arsenal's record 14, and it bought them a place in the following season's Europa League league phase that their league position had not earned, plus a Community Shield meeting with the same opponents. The defeat also ended Rodri's unbeaten run in club football, which had reached 74 matches since a loss to Tottenham Hotspur in February 2023.[1][2][7]
Roy Keane, working for ITV, said the manager had done his job and that the club should back him. Ten Hag was kept on through the summer and sacked on 28 October 2024, with United 14th in the league after nine games. Guardiola's own account of the final was short: the players knew the reason, tactically it was not good, and the plan did not work.[7]
How the match unfolded
- 1'A long United pass sends Marcus Rashford clear inside the opening seconds, and Kyle Walker, City's captain, races back to deny him a shot inside the box.[1][7]
- 2'Seconds later at the other end Lisandro Martinez barges Erling Haaland over in the penalty area. City appeal for a spot-kick. Andrew Madley waves it away.[1][7]
- 8'Bruno Fernandes finds Alejandro Garnacho inside the area. The winger shoots straight at Stefan Ortega.[1][7]
- 30'United lead, and not because they created anything. Diogo Dalot lifts a long ball forward, Josko Gvardiol tries to head it back to Ortega, who has come a long way off his line, and the header loops over the goalkeeper. Garnacho rolls it into an empty net.[1][7][8]
- 37'Garnacho gets away again and crosses for Rashford to turn the ball in. The east stand celebrates. The flag is up: Garnacho is caught offside in the build-up and the goal does not stand.[1][8]
- 39'United cut City open properly. Rashford's cross-field pass finds Garnacho, Garnacho picks out Fernandes alone on the edge of the box, and the captain flicks it first time into the path of Kobbie Mainoo, who drives it low across Ortega and inside the far post.[1][7][8]
- 45'Mainoo is booked for a foul, six minutes after scoring. Half-time arrives with City, the champions, two goals down and without a reply.[8][7]
- 46'Guardiola resets at the break: Jeremy Doku on for Mateo Kovacic, Manuel Akanji on for Nathan Ake. City play the second half as a siege.[1][7]
- 54'Doku's first cut-back reaches Phil Foden inside the box. Foden scuffs it wide.[8][1]
- 55'Doku's next pass into the area falls to Haaland, whose shot smacks the crossbar. Wembley turns.[7][1]
- 59'Walker strikes from outside the box and Andre Onana saves it in the top corner, the save the FA's report singled out.[8][1]
- 61'Julian Alvarez, on for Kevin De Bruyne, shoots over from the middle of the box after a corner.[8][1]
- 64'Alvarez runs on to a Foden pass and slides his shot wide of Onana's right-hand post from close range. City's best chance of the half goes with it.[8][1]
- 77'Walker forces Onana into another save from range, this one to his bottom-left corner.[8][1]
- 87'Doku drifts in from the left wing, shifts the ball onto his right foot and beats Onana at the near post from just outside the area. City have three minutes and a grandstand finish.[1][7][8]
- 90'Seven minutes are added. City do not create another clear opening in them. Bruno Fernandes lifts the FA Cup, and Kobbie Mainoo is named man of the match.[1][7]
Match facts
- Date
- Saturday 25 May 2024
- Venue
- Wembley Stadium, London
- Attendance
- 84,814The figure carried by Wikipedia's infobox and match narrative and by ESPN's match record. Neither the FA's match report nor any governing-body or club document we could reach prints an attendance for this final, so the number is corroborated between two independent secondary records rather than confirmed against a primary one.[7][8]
- Competition
- 2023-24 FA Cup
Where they played
Both sides as they lined up. Choose any player to read what they did in this final.
Select a shirt for that player's note.
Route to the final
Manchester City
- Third round: Huddersfield Town (h) won 5-0
- Fourth round: Tottenham Hotspur (a) won 1-0
- Fifth round: Luton Town (a) won 6-2
- Quarter-final: Newcastle United (h) won 2-0
- Semi-final: Chelsea (Wembley) won 1-0
Manchester United
- Third round: Wigan Athletic (a) won 2-0
- Fourth round: Newport County (a) won 4-2
- Fifth round: Nottingham Forest (a) won 1-0
- Quarter-final: Liverpool (h) won 4-3 after extra time
- Semi-final: Coventry City (Wembley) drew 3-3 after extra time, won 4-2 on penalties
Line-ups
Manchester City · 4-2-3-1
- Stefan Ortega Goalkeeper. Came off his line for the long ball that led to the first goal
- Kyle Walker Captain. Recovered to deny Rashford in the first minute, then twice forced saves from range
- John Stones
- Nathan Ake Replaced at half-time
- Josko Gvardiol His headed back-pass looped over Ortega for the opening goal
- Rodri
- Mateo Kovacic Replaced at half-time by Doku
- Bernardo Silva
- Kevin De Bruyne Replaced by Alvarez in the second half
- Phil Foden
- Erling Haaland Hit the crossbar in the second half
Manchester United · 4-2-3-1
- Andre Onana Goalkeeper. Twice denied Walker from long range
- Aaron Wan-Bissaka
- Raphael Varane
- Lisandro Martinez Conceded a penalty appeal in the second minute; replaced late on
- Diogo Dalot His long ball forward produced the opening goal
- Kobbie Mainoo Scored the second goal and was named man of the match
- Sofyan Amrabat
- Alejandro Garnacho Scored the opening goal, and was flagged offside in the build-up to a disallowed one
- Bruno Fernandes Captain. Flicked the assist for the second goal and lifted the trophy
- Marcus Rashford Provided the cross-field pass that started the second goal
- Scott McTominay
Trivia and detail
- Michael Oliver, who had refereed the 2021 final, worked this one as the video assistant referee, with Peter Bankes as support VAR and Stuart Burt as assistant VAR. The assistant referees on the pitch were Harry Lennard and Nick Hopton, with Simon Hooper as fourth official.[3]
- Andrew Madley had already refereed an FA Trophy final and an FA Vase final, so this completed the set of the FA's three senior men's knockout finals. He told the official match programme that he had only taken the referees' course to keep his younger brother company, and that he was promoted to the Premier League list in 2019 and the FIFA international list in 2020.[4][3]
- Manchester City went into the final having won 11 consecutive FA Cup ties. Excluding byes and void games, only two longer winning runs exist in the competition's history: Blackburn Rovers with 20 between 1883 and 1886, and Chelsea with 13 between 2009 and 2011.[2]
- Manchester United had conceded three or more goals in only two of their previous 111 FA Cup matches combined, and had never done so in three consecutive ties. They then did it twice in a row on the way to this final, beating Liverpool 4-3 and drawing 3-3 with Coventry City.[2]
- Kevin De Bruyne went into the final having assisted three goals in FA Cup finals, setting up Gabriel Jesus in 2019 and both of Ilkay Gundogan's goals in 2023. No player on record since 1962 has provided more, although Olivier Giroud also has three.[2]
- Manchester United's women's team had won the Women's FA Cup a fortnight earlier, making United the fifth club to win both competitions in the same season and the first since Manchester City in 2019.[7]
- The final was shown live in Britain on BBC One and ITV1 at the same time. Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Karen Carney were on the ITV panel with Mark Pougatch.[7]
- United made a double substitution in the third minute of stoppage time, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof replacing Scott McTominay and Alejandro Garnacho with the match still at 2-1.[7][8]
- The FA's published prize fund for the 2023-24 competition pays the final winners 2,000,000 pounds and the runners-up 1,000,000 pounds.[5]
How well do you know the 2024 final?
Five questions. Every answer is sourced from the material on this page.
-
Who scored Manchester United's second goal in the 2024 FA Cup final?
-
Where had Manchester United finished in the Premier League that season?
-
Who refereed the 2024 FA Cup final?
-
Before this final, how often had a side finishing eighth or lower beaten that season's champions in an FA Cup final?
Answer
Once, in 1957. Aston Villa, tenth in the league, beat Manchester United in 1957. The other five such finals were all defeats, by an aggregate of 15-0.[2]
-
Which round did Manchester United survive on penalties on the way to this final?
What is not settled
Honesty matters more than tidiness. These details are contested or unrecorded, and we have not guessed at them:
- The attendance is the weakest field on this page. 84,814 appears in Wikipedia's infobox and narrative and in ESPN's match record, and those are the two sources cited. Neither the FA's match report nor any FA or club document we could reach prints an attendance for this final, so the figure is corroborated rather than confirmed.
- Manchester United's formation is genuinely disputed. Most coverage describes 4-2-3-1, which is what this page draws. Wikipedia's own line-up table labels both Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay as centre-forwards with Garnacho at right wing and Rashford at left wing, which describes something closer to 4-2-2-2. The eleven names are not in doubt; the shape is.
- Julian Alvarez's substitution for Kevin De Bruyne is given as the 56th minute by Wikipedia and the 57th by ESPN. This page uses 56.
- Guardiola's half-time double change is recorded at 46 minutes by Wikipedia and logged at the start of the second half by ESPN. Nothing turns on the difference.
- Scott McTominay's booking is given as 90+5 by Wikipedia and 90+3 by ESPN.
- Erling Haaland's shot against the crossbar is placed in the 55th minute by Wikipedia. The FA's report describes the sequence without minutes, and ESPN's event feed does not log shots against the woodwork, so the minute rests on a single source.
- The reports that Manchester United had already decided to dismiss Erik ten Hag before the final are press reporting, not a club statement. He was retained through the summer, signed a contract extension in July, and was sacked on 28 October 2024.
- Wikipedia's claim that this was the sixth time United had played in two successive FA Cup finals carries a citation-needed tag and is not repeated here.
- Several secondary sources are said to name Craig Pawson as the referee of this final. We could not find a live example, so no correction is published. The appointment is documented directly: the FA named Andrew Madley of West Riding FA on 8 May 2024, and Manchester United's own site reported the same.
- No footage has been verified for this final yet, so the television shows no signal rather than an unchecked embed.
How we know
Every claim on this page is tied to a numbered source below. These are the contemporary records behind it, each one fetched and matched word for word before publication rather than taken on trust:
- The FA official match report, 25 May 2024 · The Football Association
- The FA, 22 May 2024, key stats via Opta ahead of the final · The Football Association, data via Opta
- The FA, 8 May 2024, match officials announcement · The Football Association
- The FA, 22 May 2024, interview given for the official match programme · The Football Association
- One-page prize fund schedule, season 2023-24 · The Football Association
Where a primary record and a modern account disagree, we show both rather than choosing the tidier number.
Sources
- Manchester United defeat neighbours Manchester City in Emirates FA Cup Final · The Football Association
- FA Cup Final key stats · The Football Association, data via Opta
- Andy Madley to referee FA Cup Final · The Football Association
- It's a Cup Final...anything can happen · The Football Association
- The Emirates FA Cup Season 2023-24 Prize Fund Payments · The Football Association
- Andy Madley to referee 2024 FA Cup final · Manchester United FC
- 2024 FA Cup final · Wikipedia
- Man City 1-2 Man United, match record · ESPN
- Manchester City v Manchester United, FA Cup final live coverage · BBC Sport