♦ Manchester City looked off the pace in a seriously below par FA Cup final display
♦ Man United raced into a 2-0 lead and City’s recent boozy party was brought up
Manchester City’s players have been accused of being off the pace after their partying last week as they produced a strangely lethargic FA Cup final display.
Manchester United arrived at Wembley as big underdogs but City’s stars looked way off it, leaving some fans to speculate that they are still feeling the effects of their post-league title party.
The out of sorts display led to some fans making wild accusations on social media that the Premier League champions’ performance had been impacted by their celebrations last week.
‘City are playing like a team that’s been on the piss all week,’ one post on X read.
‘City players look like they can’t run at all,’ another posted. ‘Too much booze.’
Man City were left shell-shocked after a disastrous first half at Wembley in the FA Cup final
The final came days after the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (left) partied through until 5am
Phil Foden (left) and Jack Grealish (right) celebrated winning a fourth straight league title
Many onlookers for the FA Cup final felt that City’s players looked like they were hungover
Pep Guardiola’s side sealed a fourth successive Premier League title last weekend with a win over West Ham, as players had a wild party to mark their latest title.
Jack Grealish, who started on the bench at Wembley, and Erling Haaland led the revelry as City’s stars celebrated until 5am at Greek restaurant Fenix, as players brought along their wives and girlfriends for a boozy night.
Grealish and Haaland struck a pose early in the night as they showed off their watches, with a Premier League medal dripping from the striker’s neck.
The party started in the dressing room, where players danced and sung: ‘Campeones, campeones, ole, ole, ole!’
Man City’s players, including Erling Haaland, partied until 5am after winning the league title
Erling Haaland’s girlfriend Isabel Haugsend threw herself into the dancing on the night out
Later on, Phil Foden’s girlfriend Rebecca Cooke attended the festivities – as well as his mother Claire Rowlands – while Rico Lewis was also seen holding hands with his partner, and Guardiola’s wife Cristina was pictured.
Grealish spared no expense on the style front, sporting a £2,000 Gucci outfit and he later posted a video of him singing Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘Unwritten’ with pals.
‘A couple of days it just knocks you back a little bit,’ Gary Neville said earlier in the week, suggesting it opened a door for Man United to exploit.
Exploit it they did as United raced into a 2-0 lead with goals from teenagers Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
The first goal came from a mix-up between Josko Gvardiol and goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, while the second saw United slice through City before Mainoo slotted home.
Things did not improve for City in the second half, aside from hitting the bar from Haaland, as United continued to dictate the pace of the match.
Jeremy Doku pulled a goal back for Man City late on, but Guardiola’s men were unable to find an equaliser to force the match into extra time.
Question marks will now be asked about the decision to have such a big party prior to the FA Cup final, as their trophy parade around Manchester on Sunday now comes on the back of such a disappointing display at Wembley.