Manchester United men's team are looking to complete a FA Cup double for the club this season, following the women's side's success in the competition a couple of weeks ago.
Ella Toone opened the scoring with a pearler straight into the top corner from outside the box against Tottenham Hotspur, before Manchester United went onto win the game 4-0 in a dominant performance. The men's side will head to Wembley on Saturday with the same intentions, looking to sign off from a disappointing campaign with victory and a trophy.
And Toone is quietly optimistic about Manchester United's chances. She's hopeful of Bruno Fernandes and Co. of overcoming their cross-city rivals on Saturday, in what will put a positive spin on the end of the season.
"Yeah, I hope so," Toone exclusively tells FourFourTwo, speaking at the launch of Pepsi Max's ‘Where There’s a Ball, There’s a Way’ campaign. "That'd be nice! A Manchester United double would be a great way to end the season. I think it's been a tough season for us both, but to have both reached an FA Cup final is amazing.
"So hopefully they can really kick on and win that. I'll be going, so hopefully it's a good day for me as well."
Not only have both teams had tough seasons, as Toone highlights, but they also both lost in the FA Cup final last term, too. The women's team lost 1-0 to Chelsea, while the men's side were beaten 2-1 in the final by Manchester City.
As Toone suggests, though, she and her team-mates used that experience to their advantage this time around - something Erik ten Hag's charges should take inspiration from.
"I think a lot of the players felt that heartbreak from last season, and standing there and watching Chelsea lift the trophy was really tough," Toone explains. "But we knew that we had to use that experience from playing in the FA Cup final last year to our benefit.
"The girls were hungrier than ever to go out and put on a performance, and the crowd was amazing for us as well. They were our 12th man like they always are, and it was just an all round special day for not just the team but the club and all the fans as well."
Toone debuted Pepsi Max's latest campaign in London on Thursday 16 May. It's aimed at improving accessibility to football, with a Hidden Pitch revealing itself when passersby scan a can of the drink at a purpose-built, specialty vending machine. A football is dispensed from the machine, with a 2v2 pitch then marked out onto the street.
Following the debut of the Hidden Pitches activation in London, the vending machine is heading north to continue celebrations in the days leading into the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley. Appearing at Chavasse Park in Liverpool on 23rd May before culminating at Cathedral Gardens in Manchester on 25th May, the message is clear: football can - and should - be enjoyed by all, wherever they are, as long as there’s a ball.
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