FA Cup: 3 mistakes Guardiola made in the defeat to Manchester United

Manchester City's FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United will be tough, especially considering the Citizens were favorites to lift the trophy.

However, Pep Guardiola's tactical decisions played a significant role in their downfall.

Here are three crucial mistakes the City boss made that ultimately cost his team the title.

So what mistakes did Pep make, or what could he have done differently?

Pep Guardiola's decision to start John Stones and Nathan Ake, both returning from injury, was a risky move that backfired. The pace and intensity of the FA Cup final against Manchester United's speedy duo, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, was always going to be a challenge for the rusty defenders.

The pair's lack of match fitness and sharpness was evident throughout the game, and it proved to be a costly mistake.

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Manchester City's approach in the first half was overly cautious, which allowed Manchester United to grow into the game.

City's usual attacking flair and intensity were missing, and they played within themselves, seemingly more concerned with United's counter-attacking threat.

This hesitant approach allowed United to dictate the pace of the game and pick their moments to strike.

Jeremy Doku's introduction in the second half was a game-changer, but it came too late.

The young winger brought a much-needed injection of pace and energy to City's attack, scoring a consolation goal and nearly setting up another.

Starting Doku instead of the ineffective Mateo Kovacic would have given City a more dynamic and threatening attack from the start.