Ten Hag's United 'broken' after FA Cup final loss to Manchester City

LONDON: Losing the FA Cup final to rivals Manchester City was not the season finale Manchester United had dreamed of, and manager Erik ten Hag said that his team was "broken" after their 2-1 defeat on Saturday (Jun 3).

The first ever FA Cup final between the two Manchester teams ended with the trophy heading to the blue side of the city.

"We are broken, disappointed of course," Ten Hag said. "So it's tough. But I am proud of my team."

United captured the Carabao Cup in late February and at one point were flirting with the Premier League lead, leading to talks of a potential domestic treble in a fantastic debut season for Ten Hag.

While United finished third in the Premier League, their manager summed up the season as a success.

"We had a fantastic season," Ten Hag said. "More than we could have imagined at the start. We finished third, qualified for the Champions League and we won a trophy and made another final. I am very happy with my team."

United could have killed off City's hopes of becoming only the second English team to complete the treble of lifting the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies in the same season.

Instead, Saturday's result means that City are now one win away from emulating United's 1999 feat that was achieved under Alex Ferguson's watch.

Ten Hag was not pleased on Saturday with the two "soft" goals conceded to Ilkay Gundogan, who netted both with volleys, including the first one just 12 seconds after kick-off.

"But we fought ourselves (into) the game," the Dutch manager said. "There was a great spirit. We were really hard to beat and I think also in the end we could have made the equaliser."

Bruno Fernandes scored United's lone goal from the penalty spot. After Gundogan put City back on top,