If last season's all-Manchester FA Cup Final felt like part of a beginning for Erik ten Hag and Manchester United, today’s rematch is surely an ending.
The 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at Wembley a year ago, decided by Ilkay Gundogan's double, was painful, but came at the end of a season of progress, in which Ten Hag's side won the League Cup, returned to the Champions League and appeared to be gathering momentum as a force again.