Manchester United’s players shook off a season’s worth of criticism to produce a masterful performance against City.
When you play Manchester City, you will never have it easy. And there were spells where City had lots of possession.
At the same time, this was also Manchester United’s most straightforward FA Cup final since the 2004 victory over Millwall.
United won 2-1 but led 2-0 for most of the game, although, bizarrely Pep Guardiola did not agree United had been the better team.
It was a game full of top performances from the entire starting team, with Sofyan Amrabat in particular standing out.
Sofyan Amrabat praised
Sofyan Amrabat delivered a mountainous performance in midfield,impressing supporters, and bringing his ‘World Cup Amrabat’ form to Manchester United at long last.
The Fiorentina loanee was top of our player ratings, saving his best performance for the club until last.
His performance was praised on MUTV by pundit Danny Webber, who expressed his admiration for his display.
Webber said: “He’s been brilliant he really has, the impact he’s had.
Amrabat was also praised by Paul Scholes who lauded him as like ‘Prime Gattuso’.
Sofyan Amrabat almost did not start
Amrabat was not expected to start the game. It had been presumed Casemiro would come back into midfield, after Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were both fit to start.
But as it transpired, Casemiro had suffered a late injury blow, and missed out on the squad entirely.
Having Amrabat available was a blessing. If he was not there, United would have had to use either Christian Eriksen, or change Scott McTominay‘s role.
It’s unclear whether United will take up the option to buy Amrabat permanently. It was looking unlikely, but his FA Cup final performance should prompt a re-think. If nothing else, the Moroccan is an extremely valuable squad player.