FA Cup Final 2024 Attendance 84,814 at Wembley Stadium Referee Andrew Madley
Manchester City 1 Doku 87
Manchester United 2 Garnacho 30, Mainoo 39
Manchester City Ortega - Walker (c), Stones, Ake (Akanji 46), Gvardiol - Rodri, Kovacic (Doku 46) - Silva, De Bruyne (Alvarez 56), Foden - Haaland Booked Alvarez
Manchester United Onana - Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Dalot - Garnacho, Mainoo, Amrabat, Rashford - Fernandes, McTominay Booked Mainoo, McTominay
MANCHESTER UNITED produced an uncharacteristically convincing performance to lift the FA Cup for a 13th time by beating Manchester City at Wembley.
The build-up to the match was dominated by rumours about Erik Ten Hag's position as head coach at Old Trafford after 14 league defeats in 2023-24 and a lowest finishing place since 1989-90.
Man United also went out of the Champions League in humiliating fashion, bottom of a seemingly manageable group featuring Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Copenhagen.
But the FA Cup was a trophy which the Red Devils seemed destined to win.
In the quarter finals, Liverpool should have been out of sight at Old Trafford - but spurned chance after chance to extend their 2-1 half time lead before the home side won in the last minute of extra time.
By contrast, the semi final against Championship side Coventry City went the opposite way - Man United sped 3-0 in front through Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes.
However, the Red Devils then lost their way altogether - and the Sky Blues forced extra time.
During that 30-minute period, Coventry thought they had won it, only for Victor Torp's effort in injury time in extra time to be ruled out by a dubious offside call.
And, in the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Man United prevailed 4-2.
Finally, in the Final itself, Man City were in sight of a Double after securing yet another Premier League crown last weekend.
There was an early shout for a Man City penalty after Erling Haaland fell under a clumsy challenge by Lisandro Martinez.
Thereafter, though, the match degenerated into a stalemate with Man United sitting deep and Man City passing the ball in unthreatening positions.
Indeed, Man United were deep when, on the half hour mark, Diego Dalot hooked a ball forward and Alejandro Garnacho took advantage of a high defensive line and a terrible mix-up to race onto it.
Man City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega left himself in no man's land and teenager Garnacho had a simple tap-in to make it 1-0.
Nine minutes later, Man United took complete control of the Final after England squad member Kobbie Mainoo - another teenager - benefited from more blancmange weak Man City defending to score.
At this point, Man United had plenty to hold onto and Ten Hag's men never really allowed their opponents to get up a real head of steam.
True, Haaland hit the underside of the bar in the second half in an otherwise anonymous display - and Jeremy Doku got one back late on by firing a daisy cutter past Andre Onana.
But, despite seven minutes of stoppage time, nothing else significant followed - and, in truth, Man United were able to stroll to victory.
Man City will console themselves with their unprecedented fourth consecutive English league title following a pretty straightforward win at home to West Ham United.
Phil Foden fired Pep Guardiola's men in front inside 79 seconds with a rocket into the top corner before doubling the lead on 18 minutes.
West Ham have appeared very fragile at times this season, conceding 74 goals - a figure surpassed only by the dire bottom three.
But, in David Moyes's last game as boss in his second spell at the London Stadium, the Hammers showed some resilience - and pulled a goal back on the stroke of half time through Mohammed Kudus's audacious overhead kick.
No matter. Man City were simply too strong for their opponents - and wrapped up a ninth successive league win through Rodri.
For much of the afternoon anyway, there had been little doubt about the destination of the title after Arsenal fell 1-0 behind in their game against Everton.
As it happened, the Gunners pulled it around and generally have shown far more backbone in the title race this year than 12 months ago - but the reality is that Guardiola's men have again proven far too strong for the North London outfit.
That is how it looks in the record books for now at least - but, while the 115 Premier League charges against Man City for alleged financial irregularity remain outstanding, there will always be some doubt over the outright validity of their successes.
For their part, Man City vehemently deny the charges - and some reports suggest it could be at least another year before any verdict.
Elsewhere, Jurgen Klopp said farewell - though perhaps not goodbye - to the Kop, with Liverpool safely nestled in third ahead of their closing 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield.
Meanwhile, fourth-placed Aston Villa were clearly already on the beach during their 5-0 defeat to Crystal Palace - whose own excellent recent run under new coach Oliver Glasner secured a top-10 position.
Tottenham Hotspur were almost certain of finishing fifth and confirmed their place in the Europa League next season with a facile 3-0 win over rock-bottom Sheffield United.
And fellow capital outfit Chelsea joined Spurs in Europe by finishing sixth - albeit that was only enough for the Conference League after the FA Cup Final result.
The Blues hit a purple patch in the second half of the season with nine wins and 32 points in their 15 league game - although that run was still not enough for Mauricio Pochettino to keep his job following another underwhelming season at Stamford Bridge overall.
Newcastle United finished seventh - above Manchester United for the first time in the Premier League era after scoring 85 league goals.
That is in fact the most in a single top division campaign for the Magpies since 1960-61 - a season which incredibly ended with 109 goals conceded and relegation.
Nevertheless, a ridiculous injury crisis and some equally ridiculous Cup draws in 2023-24 contributed heavily to the fact that Eddie Howe's men failed in their attempt to qualify for European football in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the Sir Bobby Robson era.
At the bottom, all three of the promoted teams made an immediate return to the Championship for the first time in 26 years and only the second time in the Premier League era.
Sheff United were relegated back on 27 April - and, finishing on 16 points, only narrowly avoided being the worst Premier League team ever.
The Blades' desperate record of 104 goals conceded is a Premier League record, though - and they also matched the -69 goal difference recorded by statistically the worst team of all, Derby County.
Across the Pennines, Burnley went down on the penultimate matchday following their 2-1 defeat to Spurs as head coach Vincent Kompany failed to transfer his coaching philosophy in the Championship into sustainable success in the top flight.
Despite this, somewhat astonishingly, Kompany has just been appointed as the new Bayern Munich head coach, no doubt to the raising of more than a few eyebrows.
Finally, Luton Town were the third side to go down after their first top flight season since 1991-92.
To their credit, as the supposed weakest of the three teams to get promoted in 2022-23, the Hatters officially took their fight to the final day.
Realistically, though, Rob Edwards's men were also already down on the penultimate matchday - and, needing a swing in their favour of three points and 12 goals, their fate was sealed by a 2-1 win for Nottingham Forest at Burnley.
EFL Championship playoff final Attendance 86,862 at Wembley Stadium Referee John Brooks
Leeds United 0
Adam Armstrong scored the only goal of a largely low-quality contest, striding clear of a poorly-executed offside trap and finishing neatly past Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier on 24 minutes.
The Whites actually started more brightly with Willy Gnonto putting an early shot on target - but the fact that their next such effort came in stoppage time at the end of the match tells its own story.
In between, the Saints defence was barely tested despite Daniel Farke's outfit enjoying the majority of the ball - as Russell Martin's men got the better of the Yorkshire club for the third time this season.
Wales international Daniel James came on as a second half substitute for Leeds and injected some much-needed spark to his team's performance, striking the underside of the bar with six minutes of the 90 left.
It was also James who tested the desperately under-worked Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy in the 94th minute with a low drive from the edge of the box.
But there was very little to be said otherwise for Leeds' attacking endeavours - as the Saints went marching up.
In League One, Oxford United returned to the second tier for the first time in 25 years after upsetting Bolton Wanderers in the playoff final.
Josh Murphy - the identical twin brother of Newcastle winger Jacob - scored twice in the latter part of the first half as the Yellows cruised to victory under the arch.
Finally, in League Two, Crawley Town completed a remarkable playoff campaign with promotion to the third tier for the first time since 2014-15.
The Red Devils thrashed Mike Williamson's fourth-placed Milton Keynes 5-1 at Stadium:mk on the way to an 8-1 aggregate win in the semi finals - then completed the job against Crewe Alexandra in the Final.
Danilo Orsi and Liam Kelly scored late in the first and second halves respectively against the Alex - although the victory by the Sussex club was well-deserved.
⚽
| Premier League | |
| Champions | Manchester City |
| Runners-up | Arsenal |
| Champions League | Liverpool (3rd), Aston Villa (4th) |
| Europa League | Tottenham Hotspur (5th), Manchester United (cup winners) |
| Europa Conference | Chelsea (6th) |
| Relegation | Luton Town, Burnley, Sheffield United |
| Championship | |
| Champions | Leicester City |
| Runners-up | Ipswich Town |
| Playoff winners | Southampton (won 1-0 v Leeds United) |
| Relegation | Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town, Rotherham United |
| League One | |
| Champions | Portsmouth |
| Runners-up | Derby County |
| Playoff winners | Oxford United (won 2-0 v Bolton Wanderers) |
| Relegation | Cheltenham Town, Fleetwood Town, Port Vale, Carlisle United |
| League Two | |
| Champions | Stockport County |
| Runners-up | Wrexham |
| Also promoted | Mansfield Town |
| Playoff winners | Crawley Town (won 2-0 v Crewe Alexandra) |
| Relegation | Sutton United, Forest Green Rovers |
| National League | |
| Champions | Chesterfield |
| Playoff winners | Bromley (won 4-3 on penalties v Solihull Moors, following 2-2 aet) |
| Relegation | Boreham Wood, Kidderminster Harriers, Dorking Wanderers, Oxford City |
| National League North | |
| Champions | Tamworth |
| Playoff winners | Boston United (won 2-1a v Brackley Town) |
| Relegation | Blyth Spartans, Banbury United, Gloucester City, Bishop's Stortford |
| National League South | |
| Champions | Yeovil Town |
| Playoff winners | Braintree Town (won 4-3a v Worthing, after extra time) |
| Relegation | Dartford, Taunton Town, Havant & Waterlooville, Dover Athletic |
| Domestic Cup finals | |
| FA Cup Final | Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City |
| League Cup Final | Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea, after extra time |
| FA Community Shield | Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City. Arsenal won 4-1 on penalties |
| EFL Trophy | Peterborough United 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers |
| FA Trophy | Gateshead 2-2 Solihull Moors, after extra time. Gateshead won 5-4 on pens. |
| FA Vase | Romford 3-0 Great Wakering Rovers |
| Premiership | |
| Champions | Celtic |
| Runners-up | Rangers |
| Europa League | Hearts (3rd), Kilmarnock (4th) |
| Europa Conference | St Mirren (5th) |
| Relegation | Livingston |
| Championship | |
| Champions | Dundee United |
| Runners-up | Raith Rovers (not promoted; lost 1-6 on agg v Ross County (1-2h, 0-4a)) |
| Relegation | Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Arbroath |
| League One | |
| Champions | Falkirk |
| Runners-up | Hamilton Academical (won 5-3 on agg v Inverness Caledonian Thistle (2-1h, 3-2a)) |
| Relegation | Stirling Albion, Edinburgh City |
| League Two | |
| Champions | Stenhousemuir |
| Runners-up | Peterhead (not promoted) |
| Playoff winners | Dumbarton (won 4-3 on agg v The Spartans (2-1h, 2-2a)) |
| Relegation | None (Stranraer won 5-3 on agg v East Kilbride (2-2a, 3-1h aet)) |
| Domestic Cup finals | |
| FA Cup Final | Celtic 1-0 Rangers |
| League Cup Final | Rangers 1-0 Aberdeen |
| Challenge Cup Final | Airdrieonians 2-1 The New Saints (Wal) |
| Champions | The New Saints |
| Europa Conference | Connah's Quay Nomads (2nd), Bala Town (3rd), Caernarfon Town (playoffs) |
| Relegation | Colwyn Bay, Pontypridd United |
| FA Cup Final | Connah's Quay Nomads 2-1 The New Saints |
| League Cup Final | The New Saints 5-1 Swansea City |
| Champions | Larne |
| Europa Conference | Linfield (2nd), Cliftonville (cup winners), Crusaders (playoff winners) |
| Relegation | Newry City |
| IFA Cup Final | Cliftonville 3-1 Linfield, after extra time |
| League Cup Final | Linfield 3-1 Portadown |
| UEFA finals | |
| Champions League | Real Madrid (Spa) 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (Ger) |
| Europa League | Atalanta (Ita) 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) |
| Europa Conference | Olympiacos (Grc) 1-0 Fiorentina (Ita), after extra time |
| Super Cup | Manchester City (Eng) 1-1 Sevilla (Spa). Manchester City won 5-4 on penalties. |
| Selected league champions | |
| Spain | Real Madrid |
| Italy | Internazionale |
| Germany | Bayer Leverkusen |
| France | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Portugal | Sporting Lisbon |
| Netherlands | PSV Eindhoven |
| Belgium | Club Brugge |
| Greece | PAOK Thessaloniki |
| Turkey | Galatasaray |
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