FA Cup: Comparing Garnacho and Mainoo’s Wembley Heroics in 2024 to Ronaldo’s Goal in 2004 Final

FA Cup: Comparing Garnacho and Mainoo’s Wembley Heroics in 2024 to Ronaldo’s Goal in 2004 Final

Joel Reyes
May 26, 2024 at 4:28 AM
In this article:
Alejandro Garnacho logo
A. Garnacho
Manchester United logoFArgentina logo
Kobbie Mainoo logo
K.Mainoo
Manchester United logoMEngland logo
Cristiano Ronaldo logo
C. Ronaldo
Al Nassr FC logoFPortugal logo
Manchester City logo
Manchester City
England
26
Manchester United logo
Manchester United
England
30
FA Cup logo
FA Cup
England
Millwall logo
Millwall
England
27
English Premier League logo
ENG Premier League
England
  • Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo joined Cristiano Ronaldo in an exclusive list on Saturday
  • The teen duo scored Manchester United's goals in their FA Cup final win over Manchester City
  • Cristiano Ronaldo was the last teenager to score in an FA Cup final, netting vs Millwall in 2004

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Erik ten Hag's kids are alright.

Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo justified their selection, scoring the winning goals for Manchester United in the 2024 FA Cup final.

Sports Brief compares the teen duo's heroics at Wembley Stadium to Cristiano Ronaldo's feat in 2004 when he led the Red Devils to the FA Cup title against Millwall.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, Erik ten Hag, Manchester City, Millwall, FA Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo lifts the 2004 FA Cup trophy; Kobbie Mainoo celebrates with Alejandro Garnacho after United win the 2024 FA Cup. Images: Mike Egerton/ Robin Jones.
Source: Getty Images

Ronaldo scores in 2004 FA Cup final

Cristiano Ronaldo won his first major trophy with Manchester United two decades ago, helping the Red Devils capture the 2004 FA Cup.

He was the match's outstanding footballer, with his dribbling wizardry and incisive runs ripping the Millwall defence to shreds, per The Guardian.

Full-back Robbie Ryan had no answer for the Portuguese star, who was in scintillating form right from the get-go.

He immediately tested the Millwall defence after four minutes, with his delightful cross finding Ruud van Nistelrooy inside the box. The Dutchman failed to find the back of the net, though, as his diving header narrowly drifted wide.

Ronaldo once again exposed Millwall's defence minutes later, making Ryan look foolish with an inside-out move.

The ball eventually broke to Paul Scholes, who failed to make contact from six yards out to keep the game scoreless.

It was only fitting that Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the 44th minute, given his spectacular play in the first half.

The 19-year-old attacked the far post to head Gary Neville's fantastic cross past Marshall to give United a 1-0 lead.

Van Nistelrooy sealed the victory for the Red Devils with a brace in the second half to capture the club's 11th FA Cup title.

Garnacho, Mainoo make history vs Man City

The pressure was on Erik ten Hag to win against Manchester City, with rumours swirling that his job was on the line after a disappointing 2023-24 season.

For the biggest game of his United career, ten Hag put his trust in United's youngsters.

He named Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo in United's starting XI, making the Red Devils the first team since Millwall in 2004 to start at least two teenagers in an FA Cup final, per Opta Analyst.

That decision paid dividends for ten hag and United, as the young duo delivered on the big stage.

Garnacho opened the scoring for Manchester United on the half-hour mark, taking full advantage of a mix-up between Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and defender Josko Gvardiol.

The ball fell kindly to the Argentine, who scored with an easy tap-in to hand the Red Devils a 1-0 lead.

Garnacho was also part of a blistering counter-attack in the 39th minute that resulted in United's second goal.

He received a beautiful cross-field pass from Marcus Rashford, exposing the City defenders in the process.

An unmarked Garnacho then delivered a pass to Bruno Fernandes, who dissected City's defence with a terrific no-look assist to Mainoo.

The 19-year-old Englishman applied a calm finish to Fernandes' pass to double United's advantage.

Garnacho and Mainoo made history with their first-half goals, becoming the first teenagers since Ronaldo in 2004 to score in an FA Cup final.

What made their feats so impressive was that they did it against a Manchester City team that's coming off a fourth successive Premier League title win.

The odds were stacked against United in this matchup, but Garnacho and Mainoo's brilliance put the Red Devils on top in the Manchester derby.

IShowSpeed celebrates United win at Wembley

Sports Brief recently reported on IShowSpeed's celebration after United's FA Cup win.

The YouTube star celebrated like crazy after the final whistle with the Red Devils confirmed as champions.

He was later seen partying with Manchester United's stars.

Authors
Joel Reyes photo
Joel Reyes
Joel Reyes is a sports editor at Sportsbrief.com with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines. He has eight years of work experience in sports writing.