Manchester United beat Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley on Saturday (Image: GETTY)
Manchester United winning the FA Cup has had a knock-on effect on both Newcastle and Chelsea. The Red Devils beat Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley on Saturday evening thanks to goals from their two teenage academy talents Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
It comes after Chelsea and Newcastle finished just above United in the Premier League last weekend. Erik ten Hag’s team ended eighth, three points behind the Blues and behind the Magpies only on goal difference.
But winning the FA Cup means United will play in next year’s Europa League, having been granted direct passage to the group stage of the UEFA competition despite their poor league season. And their triumph relegates Chelsea to a Conference League play-off spot.
Consequently, Newcastle will not be in Europe whatsoever. They required a City victory to enter the Conference League but their seventh-placed finish sadly comes without any reward due to United’s success.
Goalscorer Mainoo told BBC One post-match: “[It means] absolutely everything. It’s been a tough season with ups and downs. This is the only thing we’ve had to look forward to.
“Last year I was in the stands. We knew we had to come together. The preparation for this game has been amazing. We’ve shown we can compete and win games.”
While United’s all-time top goalscorer Wayne Rooney, doing punditry for the Beeb, said: “Absolutely delighted. It was such a huge task for Manchester United today to come here and beat the champions and I thought they were absolutely fantastic.
“The resilience they’ve shown, the work rate, the effort, the desire to score goals. They deserved the victory.”
Manchester United are the 2024 FA Cup winners (Image: GETTY)
Captain Bruno Fernandes added: “It was the last chance to get something positive from the season. We were here last season and we weren’t good enough and we had to see them go up and get the trophy.
“They have great quality, great players, a great manager. We had to sacrifice and suffer but we did great things. Congratulations to everyone, the staff, the players and all the fans, they have given us a big push – finally we have something to celebrate.
“It is crucial for everyone. We know the manager is under so much scrutiny, he deserves this, also everyone in the backroom staff and the players, we all deserve this.”
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1903603/Man-Utd-FA-Cup-Chelsea-Newcastle