Did Manchester City plan a trophy parade for an FA Cup Final win this season? | OneFootball

The subject of a Manchester City trophy parade was floating across social media prior to Pep Guardiola and his players’ Final clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.

Following a tormenting season for the club across competitions, the last weekend brought about a glimmer of hope when it came to the potential of silverware success only to be halted by Oliver Glasner’s side.

The Eagles put together a defiant performance against Manchester City, showing their defensively stability and ferocity on the counter-attack, utilising the likes of Eberechi Eze, Ismaila Sarr, and Jean-Philippe Mateta to the very best of their capabilities.

And it was the former who provided what turned out to be the difference between the two clubs on the Wembley Stadium surface, firing home from a Daniel Munoz cross in the first-half leaving Stefan Ortega Moreno with no chance of denying the effort.

That strike meant that Crystal Palace secured their first major trophy in the club’s long-standing history on a truly memorable afternoon for the Selhurst Park outfit, and left Manchester City wondering where it had all gone wrong.

Many in the build-up were talking about the prospect of a Manchester City trophy parade around the city centre, in the event of a second FA Cup success in three years and despite the struggles of the ongoing campaign.

However, according to the Manchester Evening News’ Simon Bajkowski, City were always ‘unlikely’ to hold a trophy parade around the city centre in the event of a potential FA Cup triumph on Saturday amid the busy schedule looming for their players.

While there will be no opportunity to celebrate silverware success this season, Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City players still have plenty of work to do in the final week of the campaign with two Premier League fixtures to battle through.

Tuesday night will see Bournemouth visit the Etihad Stadium in the final home game of the top-flight season for City, in a contest that will also mark Kevin De Bruyne’s final farewell to the club before leaving on a free transfer this summer.

The 2024/25 Premier League season will then conclude with an away trip to Craven Cottage and Manchester City will be firmly aware of the requirement to take four points from their final two games in order to bank a UEFA Champions League qualification spot in the division.