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All the noise in the build up to a second successive all-Manchester FA Cup final was that Erik ten Hag could be relieved of his position as United boss, regardless of the result against Manchester City.

While that may still happen, the Dutchman left Wembley with a second trophy in two seasons, albeit after his side delivered a performance full of spirit and hunger, those are things that have been absent too many times this season.

His side caused City all sorts of problems with their pace in transition, teenagers Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scoring in a 2-1 win.

Securing the FA Cup against their city rivals saw United fans leave Wembley happy, but finishing eighth in the Premier League with a negative goal difference will not be considered good enough.

After the game, Ten Hag came out fighting, saying his side are exactly where they want to be and insisting he will keep on winning elsewhere if the club do decide to replace him this summer.

"If they don't want me anymore, I will go somewhere else and keep winning games, winning trophies," he said.

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That was by some considerable distance Manchester United's best performance of the season.

It was quite possibly their best performance of Erik ten Hag's two years at the club.

The rumours have been growing. United are committed to an end of season review.

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Diogo Dalot felt the FA Cup final win showcased exactly what he and his Manchester United team-mates are capable of.

He told BBC TV: "It was the best way to approach the game, [with] the hard work, the resilience and it was our best game of the season as a team.

"You could feel in the dressing room before the game that we really wanted to win. This is the standard of this club. It has to be every game and it feels good to end the season with a trophy.

"We could have done more things better all season, but it feels good for us and especially for the fans. They have been amazing all year and more than anyone they deserve this.

"We knew if we closed the middle and allowed them to play from the outside, it could get easier for us and knew the spaces were in behind them."

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says he does not know about his future at the club but he told BBC One that he sees his time at Old Trafford as a "project".

"I do not know. The only thing I am doing is preparing my team and developing my team. This is a project for me.

"When I came in, it was a mess. Now we are better, but we are not where we want to be.

"Football is about winning trophies. I want to play the best football. That is dynamic, attacking football, but in the end you have to win games and trophies.

"That is the mentality we brought in. This was our one opportunity and we did it. I am very proud of the players and staff."

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Former Premier League striker Dion Dublin says Manchester City "were off it" in the FA Cup final and it was not the level of performance that we have become accustomed too.

"I do not think City were at it," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Even in the second-half they were at 80 per cent.

"Only Manchester United could win the game today by the way they approached it and that was every player giving 100 per cent energy. They needed that commitment to get anything from this City side.

"But City were off it and they missed too many chances. Andre Onana made two unbelievable saves from Kyle Walker to keep his team in it."

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Manchester United's all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney speaking on BBC One:

"Absolutely delighted. It was such a huge task for Manchester United today to come here and beat the champions and I thought they were absolutely fantastic.

"The resilience they've shown, the work rate, the effort, the desire to score goals...

"They deserved the victory."

Former Newcastle and England captain Alan Shearer praised Manchester United's performance: "So much has been missing in this Manchester United team for large parts of this season but it wasn't today. They had a great attitude, they went out and played the manager's instructions to perfection.

"Every single player played their part. They stood firm under pressure."

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Erik ten Hag speaking to BBC One after his side beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup: "All compliments to the team. We played very good and to our identity. We were very strong.

"You have seen how we can play when we have the players on board. Some were not even match fit but the performance was very good.

"I tell you [the media] this all year - when the players are fit, we can play good football. [It was] a very good performance against the best team in the world.

"It is much more important when you play a team from your own city. But for us, it was not about this. It was to prove a point after so many setbacks. The team showed so much resilience and I am proud of them."

On if criticism of his team has been unfair: "I think so. On the team and me as well. It was not right.

"But we did not have the players. We have seen the same things, not always good football - definitely not - but we had to make compromises all the time and then you cannot play the football you want to play.

"Maybe three or four times in two years, we have had the full squad available. Even today, we were missing massive players like Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Casemiro."

Manchester City have missed out on the chance to add the FA Cup to the Premier League title this season after defeat by Manchester United at Wembley.

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It was an outstanding performance from Manchester United to win the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday.

But does this redeem a difficult season?

Is it enough to save Erik ten Hag - or does he just bow out on a high?

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola gave some fairly short answers in his BBC One interview.

He was asked what he said to his players after a rare final defeat: "Congratulations to them on a fantastic season."

On what happened: "We lost the game. Congratulations to United. It was a tight game.

"It can happen. Many things. At the end they scored two goals and we couldn’t score more."

Before the game he said if they were going to lose he wanted them to stick to their style and be beaten by a better team. Did that happen? "No"

So he doesn't think United were the better team? "No.

"The second half we were there all the game. Manchester United are always a transition team. First half we struggled a bit but second half we were better. In general it as a good performance for a final."

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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes says the FA Cup win "was crucial for everyone" because of their disappointing Premier League campaign.

"It was the last chance to get something positive from the season," he told BBC One. "We were here last season and we were not good enough and we had to see them go up and get the trophy.

"They have great quality, great players and a great manager. We had to sacrifice and suffer but we did great things. I tried my best to help the team.

"Kobbie Mainoo is really good, such a quality player and you can see the composure he had with the finish. He came through the academy and [today] once more on the biggest stage in the world, he showed it again. Congratulations to everyone, the staff, the players and all the fans. They have given us a big push - finally, we have something to celebrate.

"It is crucial for everyone. We know the manager is under so much scrutiny [but] he deserves this. Also everyone in the backroom staff and the players - we all deserve this."

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Manchester United's FA Cup win over Manchester City "is no doubt a cup upset," says former Premier League striker Chris Sutton.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Fair play to Erik ten Hag for the way that his team went about it. They had a lovely balance to their play.

"There is no doubt that this is a cup upset.

"If you look back to the semi-final and their performance against Coventry City, they only just got over the line. But maybe this was written in the stars when the players were under such severe pressure.

"They had to go out and perform today and they did. That is something they have not done enough this season."

Here are the key stats for Manchester United after winning the FA Cup against Manchester City at Wembley:

Four of the past five goals scored by teenagers in FA Cup finals have been netted by Manchester United players (Norman Whiteside in 1983, Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004 and both Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo on Saturday).

After finishing eighth in the Premier League this season, Manchester United are the lowest ranked team to win the FA Cup since Arsenal under Mikel Arteta in 2019-20 (also eighth).

United’s Garnacho became just the second Argentinian to score in the FA Cup final after Ricardo Villa’s brace for Tottenham also against Manchester City in 1981.

At 26 years and 58 days old, United named the youngest average age for a starting XI since City (25 years and 310 days) against Stoke in 2011.

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Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton says Manchester City's "big players did not show up" in the FA Cup final.

Pep Guardiola's side failed to defend their title against Erik ten Hag's attacking team who defeated them 2-1.

"Not only is it an FA Cup final but it is also a Manchester derby and they have lost to their biggest rivals," said Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It was a game people thought they would win comfortably if they showed up but the big players did not turn up. Kevin de Bruyne had a really flat game, so did Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden - who has been brilliant all season - was slightly off it.

"The credit has to go to Manchester United because of the way they performed. They deserved the win."