da dobrowin： The Germany midfielder wrote his name into the history books at Wembley, but David de Gea signed off a poor season on a miserable note
da fazobetai： Ilkay Gundogan conjured two magical volleys to win a tense and tight FA Cup final against Manchester United and secure the double for Manchester City. Now the Cityzens have just one more step to take on their stairway to a heavenly treble.
Gundogan scored the fastest goal in FA Cup final history with an outstanding strike after only 13 seconds at Wembley, and after Bruno Fernandes had pulled United back into contention from the penalty spot, the German struck again, meeting Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick and beating a lacklustre David de Gea.
While De Bruyne and Gundogan were City's outstanding performers, the finger will again be pointed at United's goalkeeper, who ended a poor season on a miserable note. But United showed character to overcome their nightmare start and pushed City all the way, with Scott McTominay and Alejandro Garnacho coming agonisingly close to equalising and forcing extra-time.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Wembley Stadium…
GettyWINNER: Ilkay Gundogan
If this is to be Gundogan's last game for City in England, it was the perfect way to go out. The Germany midfielder etched his name into FA Cup history by scoring the fastest goal in a final in the competition's 151 years. And what a finish it was – his volley took everyone in the stadium by surprise, including De Gea, who watched motionless as the ball ripped into the net. His second goal was another volley, even if he benefited from a very slow reaction from De Gea.
Gundogan's contract expires on June 30 and while Pep Guardiola wants to keep him, the midfielder feels like he has done his service. No-one could argue with that after scoring twice to win last season's title and now slaying City's biggest rivals with another double.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: David de Gea
The Spaniard capped a season to forget with another dismal performance. As his kicking is not up to the standards of the modern game – he gave the ball away on a few occasions with hopeless punts straight to City players – he only has his shot-stopping ability to fall back on.
And he keeps on letting in shots he should be saving. He was left stunned by Gundogan's lightning-quick opening strike, but will be very disappointed not to have kept out the second goal.
It was another bad piece of goalkeeping to file alongside costly errors against Brentford, Sevilla, Everton and West Ham from across the campaign, and his overall performance underlined United's need to go and sign a young 'keeper to compete for his place next season.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Kevin De Bruyne
By his own high standards, the Belgian had a poor first half. He kept over-hitting passes and could not dictate the game in his usual way. Everything changed in the second half, though, as he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck.
His nifty footwork fooled Fred into fouling him early in the second period, and he dusted himself down to deliver the perfect cross for Gundogan to strike for the second time. His down-then-up display showed that not only is he one of the most talented players to have graced English football, he also has a highly resilient mentality.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Marcus Rashford
The United striker grabbed the winner in the last Manchester derby, but he was barely involved in the final. He had the misfortune to start as centre-forward, where he is not nearly as dangerous as when playing on the left of the attack.
He had only one shooting opportunity, a weak header which dribbled hopelessly wide, and United's best prospect of an equaliser lay in substitute Alejandro Garnacho. As United's only Mancunian to start the game, he will desperately disappointed not to have had a bigger impact in the biggest match of the season.