Erik ten Hag has pledged that Manchester United will “do everything” to prevent Manchester City from completing a possible triple when they square off in the FA Cup final.
After defeating Brighton and Hove Albion on penalties on Sunday at Wembley Stadium, United advanced to its record-tying 21st FA Cup final. Solly March missed his spot-kick, but the other 14 were all successful.
After City defeated Sheffield United 3-0 in the semifinals thanks to a hat-trick from Riyad Mahrez, the two Manchester clubs will now square off in a major cup final for the first time on June 3.
With City battling Arsenal in the Premier League title race and being drawn against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, Pep Guardiola’s team could yet collect three major trophies this term.
Doing so would see them match the famous achievements of United’s 1998-99 side, and Ten Hag knows how much the club’s fanbase would relish denying City.
“I understand, of course, the feelings from the Manchester United fans about it,” the Dutchman said.
“We will do everything to give them that, to give them the second trophy, everything that I have, everything the team have, everything the staff have, we will give everything to get that done.
The Derby 🤩
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) April 23, 2023
It'll be an all-Manchester Final for the pinnacle of the 2022/23 #EmiratesFACup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/bgMobg4Qd8
“We can do it, because we proved it, but it’s not an easy job. It’s a great team, but we’ll also have a great team and great players and we can beat them.
“More than 100 per cent, you can’t do, so the fans can rely on that. We will give it and we will do it against every opponent, it doesn’t matter who it is.
“Of course, we want to give that against City. We want to give the fans that, sure.”
Having beaten Newcastle United to lift the EFL Cup in February, United have reached both domestic cup finals in the same season for just the third time.
However, the Red Devils have never won both trophies in the same campaign, lifting the FA Cup but losing the EFL Cup showpiece game in the 1982-83 and 1993-94 seasons.