Manchester United sustained a 2-1 defeat to rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon.
In the first-ever Manchester derby cup final, Ilkay Gundogan fired in the fastest-ever FA Cup final goal to give City the lead.
Bruno Fernandes then swiftly converted a spot-kick that was awarded after Jack Grealish handled the ball in the penalty area before City retook their advantage with another Gundogan volley.
Whilst the result is obviously difficult to take, there were signs of improvement and signs that the team can build from.
In previous games, United going 1-0 down in 15 seconds could elicit a head-loss reaction from the squad, in which they’re unable to refocus and recover from the early goal.
This wasn’t the case yesterday though as, despite it not being their best performance of the season, they went almost toe-to-toe with the Premier League winners throughout the clash.
Fans are now already looking to August for the 2023/2024 campaign, where Erik ten Hag will continue his resurgence and hopefully, have some new reinforcements at his disposal.
Reds react
Here’s how the Reds reacted to the 2-1 loss:
Proud of our team!! A very intense season!! We were champions, we are back in the Champions League. We will be even stronger next season!! Proud to be United! 🔥⚽️🏴 @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/DgRasSxExi
— Antony Santos (@antony00) June 3, 2023
Thanks for all the support during the season. We will bounce back as we always do ❤️ pic.twitter.com/u6XzW5FxiN
— Bruno Fernandes (@B_Fernandes8) June 3, 2023
Very tough game