Pep Guardiola was full of praise for one Manchester United defender after the latter’s crucial contributions to United’s FA Cup triumph at Wembley, MySportDab reports.
A miscommunication between City defender Josko Gvardiol and goalkeeper Stefan Ortega handed United a golden chance to take the lead and Garnacho converted with an aplomb.
Dalot had sent a long ball over the top to Garnacho when Gvardiol attempted to head it into the arms of Ortega, who was coming off his line.
The ball went past the goalie and Garnacho made no mistake easily tapping it into the back of the net.
Twenty-two minutes later, Kobbie Mainoo scored United’s second goal, volleying home a beautiful back-pass by Bruno Fernandes.
Manchester City had enough time to chalk off the two-goal lead but could not break through United’s brink wall defence, thanks to the prolific defensive pairing of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
Pep Guardiola was particularly full of praise for Lisandro Martinez for his brilliant display in the match.
Speaking after the loss, Guardiola brandished Lisandro Martinez as among the top five defenders in the world following his brilliant display.
In a quote shared by Fabrizio Romano, the Spanish tactician said;
“Lisandro Martínez is top 5 centre-backs in the world”.
“He made the difference on this game by playing passes through our defence”.
🇦🇷 Pep Guardiola: “Lisandro Martínez is top 5 centre-backs in the world”.
“He made the difference on this game by playing passes through our defence”. pic.twitter.com/4QeRp9zgSE
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 25, 2024
Lisandro Martinez was later subbed off in the game for an injury scare but it was another standout outing for the 2022 World Cup winner after returning from injury.
After he was subbed off, Manchester City substitute, Jeremy Doku, scored a lifeline goal for City to halve the deficit in the 87th minute.
Doku’s goal set up the game for a nervy final minutes but United held on to secure victory.
