MANCHESTER CITY suffered FA Cup final heartbreak after being outbattled by Crystal Palace at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola‘s men have failed to win a trophy this season after a 1-0 defeat in North London.
EPAIt was a day to forget for Manchester City at Wembley as they lost the FA Cup final[/caption]
AlamySavinho was among a host of City stars to underperform[/caption]
Guardiola surprised fans with an attacking line-up, opting for Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne in the middle of the park.
But it proved to be a day to forget for the reigning Prem champions, who ran into an inspired Dean Henderson in the Palace goal.
Eberechi Eze smashed in the opener against the run of play in the first half.
Despite dominating possession for much of the game, City couldn’t force an equalise after the break.
Here’s how SunSport’s Martin Blackburn rated Guardiola’s side at Wembley.
Stefan Ortega – 6
German got the nod ahead of Ederson as he often does in the domestic cup games.
Had hardly touched the ball when he was picking it out of the net for Palace’s opener.
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Got away with one when Palace saw a second ruled out for offside but a quiet day – despite ending on the losing side.
Manuel Akanji – 6
Asked to fill in at right back – picked ahead of Nunes and Rico Lewis who would both be disappointed.
Flicked a header onto top of net early on and dealt well with what came down his flank.
Guardiola will be pleased to have him back for a huge week ahead for his team.
Ruben Dias – 6
Made more passes than the whole Palace team in the first half as City bossed it but ended up behind.
Slow to react when Daniel Munoz looked to have scored Palace’s second but bailed out by the VAR with the goal given as offside.
Josko Gvardiol – 7
Almost repeated his trick from the semi-final but his early header was saved by Henderson.
Had his hands full when Palace attacked with the likes of Jean-Phillippe Mateta and Eze but kept the livewire forwards in check – more comfortable at centre back.
Nico O’Reilly – 6
Rewarded for his big contribution to City’s cup run with a start in the final.
But the youngster is not a left-back and was caught out for the Palace opening goal when he gave Munoz too much space.
Denied an equaliser when his effort was blocked towards the end.
Bernardo Silva – 7
Picked to play a deeper role in Pep’s new look system and as usual did a job for his boss.
Got forward to win his team the penalty and saw a late effort blocked by Kamada.
Had done a good stint by the time he was subbed late on.
Kevin De Bruyne – 6
The Belgian was picked to start and captain the side one final time before he leaves these shores this summer.
His early cross almost created the opener for Haaland and late snapshot just wide.
But sadly there was to be no fairytale ending to his outstanding City career.
Jeremy Doku – 6
Another who saw plenty of the ball but could not do much with it.
Curling effort saved superbly by Henderson and fired another over the bar after the break – but for all his dribbling skills he needs to produce more for his team-mates.
May be more effective as an impact sub.
Savinho – 5
Saw plenty of the ball in the first half and gave his full-back some problems – but the lack of end product was frustrating.
Slightly more productive after the break however, he was replaced by Phil Foden in a bid to give City some new ideas.
Could have no complaints.
Omar Marmoush – 6
Surprised everyone by stepping up to take the penalty off Haaland but then missed it.
The Egyptian has perked up City’s season since he arrived in January but this was not his day as he tried to play in the gap just behind Haaland.
No surprise when he was subbed late on to be replaced by rookie Claudio Echeverri.
Erling Haaland – 6
Hasn’t scored at Wembley – so why did he give up the penalty?
The Norwegian always backs himself, so it seemed strange for him to give up the ball.
At the centre of the red card controversy and forced a couple of good saves from the Palace keeper.
Substitutes
Phil Foden (for Savinho ’77) – Neat and tidy but could not rescue the game. 5
Claudio Echevveri (for Marmoush ’77) – Almost a dream debut but late chance saved by Henderson. 6
Ilkay Gundogan (for Silva ’88) – Not enough time to make a major impact. 5
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