For the first time since his debut season, Pep Guardiola will end a season with Manchester City without winning a title. In the FA Cup final, the Citizens were frustrated above all by Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who was not only in the spotlight for his saves.
A season without a title is something that hasn’t happened in the sky blue part of Manchester for a long time. More precisely, not since the 2016/17 season, when newly appointed Pep Guardiola led his team to the round of 16 in the Champions League, the semi-finals of the FA Cup and third place in the Premier League.
“Congratulations to Crystal Palace on their first FA Cup title. That’s history,” the Catalan had to acknowledge at the subsequent press conference. Although his ‘match plan didn’t work because we didn’t win,’ Guardiola was not fundamentally dissatisfied with his team’s performance.
Eagles goalkeeper Dean Henderson played a decisive role in the defeat, saving a penalty from Omar Marmoush in the 36th minute. But should the goalkeeper have been on the field at that point? Journalists asked Guardiola this question, but he declined to comment further, simply replying, “Ask the referee and the VAR.”
About 13 minutes before the missed penalty, Henderson had cleared the ball with his hand in front of the onrushing Erling Haaland – but just outside his box, as the slow-motion replays showed. It was a scene that apparently escaped both referee Stuart Attwell and video assistant Jarred Gillett – and subsequently caused much discussion.
Henderson dedicates title to his late father
It wasn’t to be the last moment in which the keeper took center stage. Moments after the final whistle, there was a brief exchange between Henderson and Guardiola, with the latter even refusing to shake the Englishman’s hand.
“I just wanted to shake his hand – and I think he was disappointed about the time-wasting. I said, ‘You got the ten minutes you wanted,’” Henderson, who had been shown a yellow card for time-wasting shortly before the end, told ITV.
For the home-grown player from City’s city rivals ManUnited, it was already his second FA Cup triumph, having won the trophy in 2016 with his youth club, albeit not as a regular member of the squad. The 28-year-old dedicated this year’s success – as a regular player – to his father, who passed away at the start of the season and who he is sure was watching him “with every shot” in the final.
