It was a display of brutal ruthlessness from Manchester City. Not, admittedly, in an FA Cup final when they had 58 touches inside the Crystal Palace box, 23 shots and one penalty yet scored no goals. But beforehand. Two of their own disappeared from the squad, Pep Guardiola’s cull removing Rico Lewis and James McAtee from the teamsheet.
Academy products were instead spared parts in another of the off-days that have pockmarked Guardiola’s worst season as a manager. It may end up being bookended by trophies, by the Community Shield and the Club World Cup, but City lacked the clinical streak their manager demonstrated. On a day when few of Guardiola’s decisions worked out, a manager who has fashioned many a historic feat instead played a part in one for Crystal Palace, their belated first major trophy, some 120 years after they were formed.
