'So impressed' - Pep Guardiola sends message after Man City secure historic win over Manchester United

Pep Guardiola sent a message of congratulations to Manchester City Under-18s after they defeated Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Youth Cup final.

The Blues boss was one of many stars in attendance at the Joie Stadium on Thursday night, along with United counterpart Michael Carrick. Bruno Fernandes and Phil Foden were among the many first-team representatives at the match to watch the next generation of hopefuls do battle.

City took the lead through a fantastic free-kick from Floyd Samba but were pegged back just before half-time when Godwill Kukonki headed United level. The Blues dominated the match after the restart and finally got their reward in the closing minutes when Reigan Heskey, son of Premier League icon Emile, drilled a fierce effort into the net.

It marked the fifth time in their history that City won the trophy, a victory made even sweeter given they did it in front of a United side watched by a packed away end. It was the second time the two Manchester clubs had met in the final of the prestigious youth competition, with City also winning a two-legged clash between the sides 3-1 back in 1986.

There was extra spice heading into this match as well, after the controversy over staging the match at the 7,000-capacity stadium, rather than the Etihad Stadium, due to construction work. United wanted to stage the final at Old Trafford, after 67,000 fans were in attendance to watch them triumph over Nottingham Forest when they last won the trophy in 2022.

In the end, it was City who got what they wanted, both on and off the pitch.

Several youngsters will hope to have caught the eye of Guardiola on Thursday night, and at full-time, he congratulated them on their fine achievement.

“I want to congratulate Oliver Reiss, his staff, the players and everyone working in our academy on winning the FA Youth Cup,”he said. "Success in this competition is another example of how good this club is at creating a winning mentality and producing top young players.

"Every season I am so impressed by the talent that we produce here at the CFA - I see it when the young players train with us. I hope everyone in the academy enjoys this achievement because it is a reward for all the hard work and commitment not just from this season, but years of hard work.”