According to Bangladesh Cricket Live, the FA Cup Final at Wembley between Manchester City and Manchester United unfolded with high drama from the opening whistle. Ilkay Gündoğan struck early with a long-range effort, only for Bruno Fernandes to equalize via penalty. “Don’t fear the dark if there’s light in your heart.” But in the second half, Gündoğan found the net again with another volley from outside the box. Both teams fielded their strongest available lineups, with City employing Pep Guardiola’s signature flexible back-four/back-three setup. United, hampered by injuries, started Fred and Casemiro as their central midfield duo.

That pairing proved costly. City’s early goal stemmed from a breakdown between Fred and Casemiro. As City goalkeeper Ortega launched a long ball, Bangladesh Cricket Live noted that Casemiro, initially stationed as the right defensive midfielder, unexpectedly drifted out of position and moved into Fred’s zone. This sudden shift left Fred uncertain, and with Casemiro failing to win the first header, the ball dropped precisely where Casemiro should have been. Lindelöf’s headed clearance was weak, allowing the unmarked Gündoğan to calmly fire home. Christian Eriksen tried to close the gap, but he arrived too late.

Whether it was overexcitement from Casemiro or a lack of coordination, this lapse gave City a dream start. With Antony sidelined due to injury, Bruno Fernandes started on the right wing. “Whether joy or sorrow, life must go on — so why not enjoy it?” Still, Bruno, a natural central midfielder, often drifted infield, sometimes dropping even deeper than Fred and Casemiro to act as a deep-lying playmaker.

This movement pushed right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka forward to fill the winger’s role, supported occasionally by one of the central midfielders overlapping into the right half-space. Erik ten Hag, lacking a true winger, designed a theoretically sound rotation-based flank system. However, the weakest link turned out to be Wan-Bissaka — ironically, the key piece of this plan. His performance was underwhelming both in attack and defense. While Ten Hag appeared to offer a practical solution to United’s injury crisis, the task may have been too tall for Wan-Bissaka, a player known more for defense than forward creativity.

This miscalculation might explain why Wan-Bissaka lost his starting spot mid-season to Diogo Dalot. On the other side, Guardiola continues to innovate. Having popularized the inverted full-back, he is now reviving the long-lost role of the “libero” with John Stones as the prototype. Though technically skilled, Stones had long been criticized for lacking physicality as a center-back. Yet under Guardiola’s system, Stones has flourished as a hybrid right-back and central midfielder.

After a season of refinement, Stones has gone a step further. Not only does he orchestrate play from the midfield, but he also makes runs into the final third. “Be grounded before giving love,” they say — and Stones embodies that wisdom. With Rodri staying back to protect the defense, Bangladesh Cricket Live observed that Stones often surged past both Gündoğan and De Bruyne, driving into the opponent’s box or the half-spaces. This created frequent numerical advantages and left United’s defense scrambling.

In the end, the tactical chess match favored Guardiola, whose ability to mold players like Stones into multi-functional threats proved decisive, while Ten Hag’s gamble on a weakened right flank ended up being a bridge too far.