Manchester loves Wembley Stadium

For the second consecutive year, the FA Cup final will be a Manchester derby.

Last year’s final got off to a mad start, with Ilkay Gündogan opening the scoring in under one minute with a spectacular volley from distance.

Bruno Fernandes then equalised from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute following a controversial handball decision went against Jack Grealish.

Manchester City then found a winner through Ilkay Gündogan who secured his brace with another well-executed volley.

Manchester City escapes a penalty kick

The final hurdle for both Manchester clubs in reaching this year’s final was not without drama.

On Saturday, Manchester City scraped by Chelsea in a narrow 1-0 victory.

Bernardo Silva secured the winner for the defending champions when he put away a deflected cross from close range in the 84th minute.

Chelsea will feel some sense of injustice regarding the result.

With the scores still level at 0-0, Cole Palmer took a free kick that looked to be headed towards goal.

The shot was clearly diverted by the moving arm of Jack Grealish, who was part of the City wall.

A goal kick was given, indicating that the referee missed the deflection altogether, and VAR decided against awarding a penalty.

Based on the rules of what a handball is, Manchester City will consider themselves lucky not to have conceded a penalty kick.

At the end of the day, though, football is a game of chances.

Chelsea failed to take theirs, namely through Nicolas Jackson on two different occasions, and Manchester City capitalised when it mattered most.

VAR heartbreak for Coventry

A last-minute VAR intervention robbed the football world of one of the greatest comebacks in FA Cup history.

Manchester United seemed to be cruising to a second consecutive FA Cup final.

The Red Devils led by two goals at halftime thanks to Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.

Coventry, on the other hand, managed only one shot in the opening 45 minutes.

United added a third goal in the 58th minute through their captain Bruno Fernandes, and the game seemed to be done and dusted.

The Championship side, however, had something else in mind.

In a remarkable 20-minute spell, Coventry managed to find three goals to send the game into extra time.

With mere minutes separating the semi-final from a penalty shootout, Coventry appeared to complete the comeback of a lifetime.

Victor Torp finished a low-driven cross from Elliot Simms to give Coventry a 4-3 lead, sending Wembley into bedlam.

The goal was then quickly chopped off for an offside, and the lines drawn showed that Haji Wright’s foot was only off by a matter of centimetres.

The game then went to penalties, and Manchester United came out on top.

Erik ten Hag against Pep Guardiola, again

Erik ten Hag will be keen to make it two trophies in his first two seasons as Manchester United boss.

An FA Cup triumph against the treble winners would help to balance out what’s been a shambolic season for United.

Pep Guardiola has come out on top against the Dutchman in both of their meetings this season.

City won 3-0 in October at Old Trafford and 3-1 at home, outshooting the Red Devils by a combined total of 48-10.

Guardiola will be determined to finish the season strong after a quarter-final exit from the Champions League last week.

Anything can happen in a final though, so don’t write Manchester United off quite yet.

The FA Cup final will take place on May 25th at 3pm.