City and United faced in a Manchester derby in the FA Cup final at the legendary Wembley Stadium in London.The Red Devils won 2-1 and conquered the title.
Last year they also faced each other at this decisive stage and it was a 2-1 victory for the Citizens, with two goals from İlkay Gündoğan.
The Red Devils had more pressure to lift the trophy, after a disappointing season in which they finished eighth. They needed to be champions to break the bad streak and secure a place in European competitions next season.
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With this backdrop, United manager Erik ten Hag is on thin ice and it is already being said that he will be replaced. Keeping that in mind, it was surprising that he did not include Casemiro among the starters, nor as part of the substitute bench.
When officially announcing the lineup on social media, United stated that the central defenders will be Lisandro Martínez and Raphaël Varane, both with few minutes in the campaign due to respective injuries. Meanwhile, in the center of the midfield, the chosen ones are the young Kobbie Mainoo, one of the pleasant surprises, and Sofyan Amrabat.
On the official lineup printed on paper and distributed among the press present at Wembley, Casemiro was listed among the substitutes. However, club sources argued that the Brazilian suffered a “last-minute injury” and his place was taken by Willy Kambwala.
Ederson also out of the City team
At Manchester City, there was also a Brazilian absent. Ederson was left out due to a small fracture in the right eye socket. The goalkeeper suffered the injury in a clash with Cuti Romero in the match against Tottenham, and has also been ruled out of the 2024 Copa América squad for the Seleção.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Watch the full series, available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel.
