After losing out on securing a UEFA Champions League spot in the last games of the season, Manchester United will look up to bring home the FA Cup as a consolation prize this Saturday. They will face Crystal Palace in the final at Wembley. The Red Devils were short on goal difference to neighbors City which pushed them to the 5th spot in the Premier League table, keeping them away from playing the Champions League for a second time in time years after Sir Alex Ferguson‘s departure.
Manchester United to Fight for Consolation Prize in FA Cup Final
Though United now settled at the 5th spot, are very well aware of the huge difference of playing in the Champions League and Europa League. With those things out of their hands, the Red Devils are now set focus on the only possible silverware they can bag this year, the FA Cup. Making their 19th appearance in the FA Cup final, United would be looking to put all their efforts into this one as they aim to reclaim the title of most FA Cup wins. Their North London rivals, Arsenal currently hold the number of maximum cup wins with 12 followed by United’s 11. It was not long ago when Arsenal achieved this feat as they are the running defending champions for the last two years.
This would be the Red Devils’ first appearance in the FA Cup final since losing to Chelsea in 2007. United are the favorites to win the title as they are to face a weaker Crystal Palace side for whom too things were not going well in the league.
An FA Cup triumph will be an addition to the club’s trophy cabinet, but looking at the entire season’s achievement, it would not mean a lot. Qualifying for the Champions League was the primary motive for United this season. With rumors of Jose Mourinho taking over from next season mounting over the club, the pressure on manager Louis van Gaal will be immense. Fans have expressed their frustration over van Gaal’s record in the club’s last game at Old Trafford this season. It seems all but clear, the fans don’t to see him sitting on the bench next season and want him replaced at the earliest. So if the board takes their concerns into consideration, this could be his last game as a United manager.
It is disastrous for a club of Manchester United’s heritage not to play in the Champions League despite heavy spending of close to £ 250 million in the summer transfer window last year. Constantly criticized by club legends Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand for the tactics inclined by their Dutch boss, and failing to get a spot in the top 4 despite of being so close has come like a blow in the face to the Red Devils.
Manchester United fans won’t be celebrating the cup victory wildly, if they win, as they are yet to recover from the major blows of this season. The failure to qualify for Champions League calls for a big change in thinking at the club, and correcting the numerous sloppy performances they had this year. On the current path the Red Devils seem to be going nowhere fast and hence even if they’re crowned as the FA Cup Champions, it’d be nothing more than a consolation prize.
