49-year-old English football pundit Gary Neville reveals the main error made by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola that resulted in their FA cup final defeat against Manchester United. the secret behind Pep Guardiola’s tactical blunder that cost City the cup has been exposed by none other than footballing pundit Gary Neville, in a brutally honest post-match analysis that has set tongues wagging throughout the football world

Gary Neville has expressed his belief that Pep Guardiola made a crucial mistake during the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United.

The match concluded with Manchester United triumphing 2-1 over Manchester City, thwarting the latter’s ambitions of a domestic double. Although City recently celebrated their fourth consecutive Premier League title, they failed to replicate this success in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium last weekend.

At halftime, Manchester City was down 2-0. Despite scoring in the second half, they could not overcome United’s lead. Reflecting on the game, Neville, a former Manchester United player and current commentator, pointed out a significant tactical error made by Guardiola.

In the latest edition of The Overlap’s newsletter, Neville examined the strategies and preparations of both managers. He commended United’s midfield arrangement, stating, “The midfield combination of Kobbie Mainoo, Sofyan Amrabat, Scott McTominay, and Bruno Fernandes was robust and hard to break through.”

Neville added, “Having Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane back in defense was also crucial. Recently, it has been evident that City struggles against teams with tightly packed midfields. Real Madrid, Arsenal, and even Tottenham have employed such tactics to frustrate them, albeit with mixed results.”

Analyzing the match, Neville remarked, “I think Guardiola’s starting lineup on Saturday was a significant error. Choosing Mateo Kovacic over Jeremy Doku allowed United to gain control early. When Doku was introduced in the second half, City’s attacking threat increased notably, especially in his match-up with Aaron Wan-Bissaka.”

Doku, who played the entire match when City clinched their Premier League title against West Ham United, was surprisingly left out of the starting lineup for the FA Cup final. In the decisive Premier League match, Doku had an outstanding performance, with three key passes, two shots on target, and five successful dribbles out of ten attempts.

Despite being a second-half substitute in the FA Cup final, Doku still made a significant impact. He scored City’s only goal, made two key passes, and completed three of his five dribble attempts. In contrast, Kovacic’s first-half performance was lackluster; he failed to register any key passes or shots, reinforcing Neville’s argument about Guardiola’s selection mistake.

Neville concluded that Doku’s influence on the game was much greater than Kovacic’s, supporting his view that Guardiola’s decision not to start the Belgian winger was a misjudgment. This analysis underscores why Neville believes that Guardiola’s tactical decisions, especially in terms of player selection, were crucial in City’s FA Cup final defeat.