{statorium_team tid=7 sid=300 text="Manchester United"} manager Erik ten Hag praised his players for ignoring the detractors and fighting to defeat {statorium_team tid=4 sid=300 text="Manchester City"} in the final of the 2023/24 FA Cup despite going into the match with the odds stacked against them.
United took the lead through {statorium_player pid=39836 sid=300 text="Alejandro Garnacho"}, who pounced on a poor backwards header from {statorium_player pid=20314 sid=300 text="Josko Gvardiol"} following a miscommunication between the defender and {statorium_player pid=16324 sid=300 text="Stefan Ortega"}.
Young midfielder {statorium_player pid=45762 sid=300 text="Kobbie Mainoo"} put them up minutes later to round up a brilliant first half for the Re Devils, who then held on in the second half until Jeremy Doku struck to halve the deficit in the dying minutes of the game.
They were able to hold on to claim their first FA Cup title in eight years in front of a teeming Wembley crowd.
It glossed over the poor season that the club had and ten Hag, aware of this fact, praised his players for doing all they could to end the season on a high.
"As always the rivalry is always there and it is always much more important when you play against a team from your own city,” the Dutchman’s statement to the media began. “For us it was not about this, it was about proving a point after having such a bad year with so many setbacks and all the injuries and every time we had to survive. The team showed so much resilience and I am so proud of them.
"We didn't have the players. You are right we have seen the same thing, it has not always been good football. But we have had to make a lot of compromises and then you can't play the football you want to play. I have been here two years and we have maybe had three or four times when we have had the full squad available. Today again we have had players like {statorium_player pid=174 sid=300 text="Luke Shaw"}, {statorium_player pid=368 sid=300 text="Harry Maguire"} and {statorium_player pid=1062 sid=300 text="Casemiro"} not on board."
The former AFC Ajax Amsterdam manager then stated matter-of-factly that the trophy has glossed over every issue they had this season, a statement which has annoyed a few Manchester United fans.
"Football is about winning trophies at the end of the day,” he said. “I want to play the best football, attacking football, dynamic football. But in the end, you have to win games and trophies. That is the mentality we brought in and we had only one opportunity this season, in the FA Cup.
“I am very proud of the players and the staff because they did a fantastic job."