Erik ten Hag admitted Manchester United were “broken” after their FA Cup final on Saturday but also said that he was proud of his team after a “fantastic season”.
United were beaten 2-1 by Manchester rivals City at Wmebley Stadium as Pep Guardiola's side completed a Premier League and FA Cup double.
Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring with a stunning volley after 12 seconds, with Bruno Fernandes' penalty cancelling out the quickest goal in FA Cup final history.
But City regained the lead through another Gundogan volley to seal victory, giving them a chance to emulate United's 1999 treble heroes in next weekend's Champions League final.
Ten Hag's first season in charge has seen United finish third in the Premier League, beat Newcastle United to win the League Cup – their first trophy since 2017 – and fall to a narrow FA Cup final defeat against City.
And the Dutch coach believes there are plenty of positives to take out of the campaign. “We are broken, disappointed of course,” Ten Hag said. “So it's tough. But I am proud of my team.
“We had a fantastic season. More than we could have imagined at the start. We finished third, qualified for the Champions League and we won a trophy and made another final. I am very happy with my team.”
Many United fans had started the long, train strike-impacted journey home when their rivals lifted the trophy, but Ten Hag and his team watched those celebrations.
“First of all, show respect always,” the Dutchman said. “But, yeah, of course, it's a motivation.
“You have to feel it in your stomach. This hurts and it has to be fuel.
City beat United in FA Cup final: Player ratings
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MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Stefan Ortega – 7: Little chance with Fernandes’s penalty. Unflustered throughout and distributed the ball well. EPA -
Kyle Walker – 6: Handled Rashford’s pace well and wasn’t really put under any pressure until Garnacho came on. Fluffed a clearance to let Rashford in with a chance. AP -
Ruben Dias – 7: In almost total command of his back line. The Portuguese defender oozed authority and class. Getty -
John Stones - 7: Another assured performance from the England international. Moved between the lines with ease and made a couple of vital interceptions. Reuters -
Manuel Akanji – 7: Shook off a horrible tackle from Casemiro to put in a shift of unfussy quality and composure. AFP -
Rodri – 7: Went close to doubling City’s lead with a clever header early on. Found himself outnumbered by United at times as the game went on but barely put a foot wrong. AFP -
Bernardo Silva – 6: Didn’t get much change out of Luke Shaw but did keep the United left-back occupied to blunt his attacking threat. PA -
Kevin De Bruyne – 8: A quiet first half but clocked up two assists and should have earned a penalty when he was brought down by Fred as he burst into the box. AFP -
Ilkay Gundogan – 10: A masterclass from the City captain. His volleyed opener with his right foot was perfection and his second goal was a clever finish with his left. The definition of a big-game player. PA -
Jack Grealish – 6: Didn’t make his usual impact as Wan-Bissaka kept him under wraps for the most part. Was unlucky to concede the penalty. Getty -
Erling Haaland – 6: Kept United’s back line busy throughout but his finishing was below par. PA -
SUBS: Phil Foden (On for De Bruyne, 76’) – 6: A lively cameo from the young Englishman. AFP -
Nathan Ake (On for Grealish, 89’) – N/A. Aymeric Laporte (On for Walker, 90+4’) N/A. Reuters -
MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David De Gea - 5: Stood stunned as Gundogan’s right footed volley flew past him. His long balls forward were found by blue shirts too often, but he struggled going short too. Should have done better for City’s second. Saved from De Bruyne just after hour mark. Getty -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 7: Headed a ball across the City goal, which Grealish handled to concede a penalty. One of the few effective United players in the first half. Booked for a tackle on Grealish. AFP -
Victor Lindelof - 6: Not alert enough for the opening goal and had his hands full with Haaland. Struck by an object thrown from fans after the United penalty, his outstretched leg sent a City ball heading towards his own goal 10 minutes after break. AFP -
Raphael Varane - 6: Turned by Haaland who then shot for goal after 20. Had a chance just before break but wasn’t balanced to get a shot on target. It was the type of chance United needed to score to win. Stopped Haaland scoring in front of the 83,179 crowd. Getty -
Luke Shaw - 6: Difficult for him as City were so effective pressing United back, but he spotted Silva’s runs and did well up against the Portuguese. AFP -
Casemiro - 6: Man of the match in the League Cup final, he didn’t have the same impact though he smelled danger to clear a Haaland attack later in first half. Passes went astray, but he’s still a top performer and important for United in the near future. Getty -
Fred - 5: Won the ball ahead of De Bruyne in the first half, made a silly challenge on the same player at the start of the second, which led to a free-kick and City’s second. Booked for a foul on Grealish. He’s been man of the match against City in the past. He was far from that on Saturday. AFP -
Christian Eriksen - 5: Stopped a 22nd minute attack, but largely ineffective since he needs the ball to create. And his side didn’t have it enough. AP -
Bruno Fernandes - 6: Careless to give the ball to Grealish after 5, but stepped up to finish the first-half penalty, side footing calmly past Ortega to level the score. Did well to get a cross late in game. PA -
Marcus Rashford - 5: Central and on the left. Often had two defenders with him. Tame header towards goal midway through first half. Made key runs in difficult circumstances, ran back to win the ball after 66. Struck shot well moments later, but flew over. EPA -
Jadon Sancho - 5: Played as a central striker at times and had a couple of half-chances and encouraging runs as he tried to weave through City, though it was difficult against Walker and Rodri. Booed by fans of his former club when he came off late in game. AP -
SUBS: Alejandro Garnacho (Eriksen, 61') - 7: Arrival cheered by fans who knew their side needed to be bolder. Clever run, touch and shot wide on 72. United pushed on with him. Getty -
Wout Weghorst (Sancho, 77') N/A: United had gone long for most of the match, so arrival was little surprise. Likely to be his final appearance for United. Reuters -
Scott McTominay (Lindelof, 82') N/A: Came close to scoring near the end. AFP
“We want to be there and our team, my players, deserved it, but you have to grab it and that is the next step we have to make.”
It was a galling end to the season but Ten Hag insisted his team are one of the few in the world who are capable of going toe-to-toe with City in such a manner.
“I want to congratulate City for winning the FA Cup, but I think it was very narrow, it was head to head,” he said. “We played very competitive out of a very good organisation.
“We didn't allow them out from open play against probably the best team in the world in this moment.
“We fought back after going a quick goal down and I think we are the only team in the world who is capable of fighting back against this team from City.
“So, yeah, I was happy with the performance of my team.”
David De Gea's role has been debated all season and his part in City's second goal has been called into question, leading Ten Hag to be asked whether he was comfortable having him as his No 1 going into next season.
“In this moment, I don't want to talk about such issues, about criticism because we played all a great season, including David De Gea,” he said of the goalkeeper, who has yet to extend his contract beyond the summer.
“He played a fantastic season. If you consider that City and us before today both had 42 wins.
“Now they have one win more, so the difference was made today. Then you can tell we played a fantastic season and it's more than we could have expected before.
“We were third in the league, we are qualified for the Champions League, and we won a trophy and we were in another final.
“So, yeah, I'm really happy with the performance from my team all over.”
