Leading up to the FA Cup final, Erik ten Hag was focused on his sole win against Pep Guardiola, emphasizing that Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over City in January 2023 was the only time he could field his strongest team. Diogo Dalot was unable to play due to a hamstring injury, so Tyrell Malacia filled in at left back and Luke Shaw played at center back. Lisandro Martinez, who was still recovering from his World Cup run, was on the bench. Ten Hag could have been wrong because it was the first opportunity he had to play Anthony Martial against top-level competition. Martial played for only the first half of the game. It was not until a journalist pointed out the team selections in an article that Ten Hag was told to stop mentioning the derby. United is planning to sign a young Scottish forward in an exclusive deal, as they are focusing on recent games where their best players were available. Luckhurst agrees with Ratcliffe’s assessment of Manchester United’s initial transfer window under Ineos. United scored a total of seven goals in their victories over Wolves and West Ham in February. They unnecessarily made the task difficult at Molineux, which was where they had their best performance in the first half until the Cup final.
Â
