The finals of FA Cup are behind us, and while we could’ve expected which side will win, rare could imagine it will end in a way it did. May 18th marked the day Manchester City released all their might upon Watford, who stood no chance against the Sky Blues, who wrote history by winning the treble.
May 18th marked a historic date for Manchester City, who achieved the domestic treble. An achievement worthy praise seemed like a cakewalk for Pep Guardiola and his men, who won the Premier League, EFL Cup and most recently FA Cup. While it would be hard to justify saying they won the EPL title or EFL Cup with ease, it would be only fair to say their FA Cup seemed like stealing candy from a baby. In this case, candy being the FA Cup and baby being Watford.
While we can be happy for Manchester City who made history, we can’t help but feel a bit sorry for Watford as they had to feel the might of Manchester City, who did not hold back. City unleashed their full strength against Watford, who could not find an answer for Pep Guardiola men, who demolished the Hornets 6:0. The last time a team lost FA Cup with such a huge margin was over 100 years ago (1903) when Bury won against Derby. Additionally, City scored the most goals by any teams in the FA Cup since 1946.
The trio who helped City win the trophy were Sterling (2), Gabriel Jesus (2), David Silva (1) and Kevin De Bruyne (1), who all contributed their part in the 6 goal parade. All players played exceptionally well, however, we can be sure Sterling was not too happy after the match since the FA took away one of his goals and awarded it to Gabriel Jesus. That decision took away his hat-trick which would be the first hat-trick in the finals of FA Cup since 1953.
Regarding the match, there is not a lot to say. Watford were completely outclassed, to a degree, we can’t help but feel some pity for them. They did put up a good fight in the opening minutes, however as soon as the opening goal was scored, it all went downhill. The result, in the end, was not that surprising being we were watching a clash between a team that got themselves to the finals for the 2nd time in history and the most dominant team in the Premier League. While there were some people silently hoping Watford would somehow upset City and win, we can’t deny the fact that City finished 48 points above Watford in the Premier League, which is almost twice as many points as Watford had this season. Furthermore, Manchester City had plenty of opportunities to score more goals, especially in the 2nd half, however seeing they won’t gain anything from it, but rather only further the sadness in Watford, City “decided” 6 is enough.
All in all a sad scene, but a scene that is not too uncommon in football. Looking at hordes of Watford fans, who came to the stadium with their yellow and black shirts and flags, it seemed like Watford were one of the biggest clubs in the world with a huge fan base. Maybe I am a bit biased, being that underdogs are always fans favourites, but at the end of the day, Watford fans came ready for an upset but were left with a bittersweet FA Cup finals appearance.
So what’s next for City? After winning a treble, putting up a dominant performance in the Premier League, we can’t help but wonder, if that is the future of Premier League football. Did English football turn into a league, where there are realistically only 1-2 teams capable of competing for the title?
Sports journalist, content writer and passionate football lover.