In a gripping, weirdly unpolished contest, traces of the residual class City’s veteran campaigners possess were not enough to uplift a malformed team. Yaya Touré, Vincent Kompany and Sergio Agüero tried to lead the way but did not quite have the verve to do so, nor did they have the support that they should have had from City’s younger thrusters. So far, Pep Guardiola’s City have failed to straddle two eras while meeting the highest demands. A club with vast riches, some of which were spent hiring the prestigious coach, did not imagine ending the season empty-handed.
Six years ago, in another FA Cup semi-final at this venue, Touré heralded the rise of City by taking advantage of a mistake by Michael Carrick to score the winning goal against Manchester United and book a return to Wembley for the final. He then repeated the feat, firing into the net to demolish Stoke City’s dreams and deliver City’s first major honour in more than 30 years.
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