{"id":1089554,"date":"2019-05-18T19:21:58","date_gmt":"2019-05-18T18:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1089554"},"modified":"2021-09-14T16:42:26","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T15:42:26","slug":"man-city-6-0-watford-fa-cup-match-analysis-pep-guardiola","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/man-city-6-0-watford-fa-cup-match-analysis-pep-guardiola\/","title":{"rendered":"Man City’s 2019 FA Cup winners made English football history in the most Pep way possible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester City have won the 2019 FA Cup with a 6-0 victory over Watford at Wembley.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The win seals the domestic treble for Manchester City, the first of its kind in the English men’s game. Sure there have been domestic doubles, where teams won the Premier League and FA Cup (Man Utd 1994, Arsenal 1998, Chelsea 2010) and even a few instances where teams won both the FA Cup and League Cup in the same season (Arsenal 1993, Liverpool 2001 Chelsea 2007). But no one had ever captured all three domestic trophies in one season.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7259525-if-guardiola-s-to-be-believed-liverpool-lost-the-league-with-one-result<\/p>\n

Yet that is exactly what Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City just did. They arrived at Wembley on the precipice of history and took a massive leap into the unknown, landing on solid ground as a side that now must be considered one of the greatest in English football history.<\/p>\n

And what an incredible way for them to actually seal their victory. A six goal thrashing to equal the biggest-ever win in an FA Cup final (a win that came back in 1903). A win achieved thanks to a truly scintillating display that was in many ways the “ultimate” Guardiola performance.<\/p>\n

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This was a match that started with many people scratching their head at Pep Guardiola’s chosen first XI. He left Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne on the bench, electing to start Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus. That was a shock, but unsurprisingly City played so well and so harmoniously that by the hour mark no one was questioning the selection. Even though, honestly, who starts a cup final without his two best players voluntarily? Guardiola, that’s who.<\/p>\n

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When it came to the match itself, City were supreme. But in classic Guardiola fashion they rode their luck defensively in the early stages. As the Sky Blues flooded men forward, Watford broke with drive. An excellent cross from Gerard Deulofeu put Roberto Pereyra in, but his shot was impressively saved by Ederson. And later a Watford shot appeared to ricochet off Vincent Kompany’s arm (although it was clearly ball-to-hand). It didn’t matter that City were dominant, they still gave up chances.<\/p>\n

But, as always, they pressed forward and never stopped believing in their system. And in the end this made the difference as they cut Watford open time and time again. In another classically Pep move, their opening goal came from a distinctly “un-Pep” way.<\/p>\n