Man City told winning Treble would surpass Man Utd's feat amid FA Cup prediction
Former Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge has backed his former club Manchester City to beat rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon.
Bridge played in two FA Cup finals, with perhaps the biggest match of his club career coming in the 2007 showpiece against United. He played for Jose Mourinho ’s Chelsea that day and was tasked with marking Cristiano Ronaldo as the Blues beat Sir Alex Ferguson’s United 1-0 after extra-time in the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley, courtesy of a Didier Drogba winner in the 116th minute.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, Bridge said: “I always loved beating United. I remember at school everyone was a Man Utd fan and they were winning all the time and you think ‘you're not even from Manchester?’”
Bridge, who grew up in Winchester, continued: “I was one of the local boys supporting Southampton. So yeah, I always had a little bit of a dislike towards Man Utd - it's always great to beat them.
“It wasn't the best game, but you know, the finals a final. Obviously the rivalry between Chelsea and Man Utd at the time was huge and luckily Didier [Drogba] came up trumps."
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Bridge spent six years at Chelsea, winning all three major domestic honours in his time at Stamford Bridge, with the left-back also earning 36 England caps in an era where he was competing against Ashley Cole for club and country,
“I think I did alright in that game,“ Bridge continued. “Obviously Ashley [Cole] was there at the time and I played a lot of the games. I played most of the games in the lead up, but I was always unsure if I was going to play but they stuck with me.”
Wayne Bridge played an important role in Chelsea's 2007 FA Cup final triumph over Man Utd ((Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images))Bridge left Chelsea in January 2009 for Man City, who were at the start of their new ownership under Sheikh Mansour - a takeover which sparked a new dawn of success at the club.
City's current crop are now chasing an illustrious Treble, with Erling Haaland's goalscoring exploits key to them claiming a fifth league title in six years. When asked how he would approach stopping the lethal marksman, Bridge urged United's players to back themselves, though conceded City's other attacking talent make it a tough ask.
“It's difficult, if you’re playing week in, week out at a top club, you like to think you can compete against him, but obviously he's just a machine, isn't he?
“How would you stop him? You can say stop the service that they get to him. But it's never that easy when you’ve got the likes of [Riyad] Mahrez, [Jack] Grealish and Bernardo Silva. They're all great players in their own right.
Bridge later left Chelsea to move to Man City ((Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images))“They can just keep the ball higher, they drain you and you're going to make a mistake at some point that they would just counter it. They don't need too many chances to put it in the back of the net with the quality that they've got.”
The main narrative surrounding the match is United’s chance to stop City from winning the Treble, with Guardiola’s side able to potentially match the Red Devils’ 1999 achievement under Ferguson.
Bridge, however, explained that United’s players should not need any added incentive to win a cup final against their nearest rivals, but feels City winning the Treble would surpass United's historic feat.
“I've played seasons when you're in competitions, going all the way up to the end of the season and to be that consistent, maintain that consistency and the mentality and the belief week in, week out - It's massive to still be in it and doing it," he said.
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“So what I'm going to say is that it's a bigger achievement, but I think you have to celebrate both of them."
Asked for his prediction on how the final will pan out, he replied: “It's gonna be a close game, but I think [City will] end up nicking it in the end, so I don't think there'll be loads of goals, but I think I think they'll win it in the end by maybe one or two.”
The atmosphere at Wembley on Saturday will be electric, with the day being an extremely momentous occasion for fans of both clubs as they meet for the first time in the final of a major competition.
It will also be a special day for the official mascots who will get the opportunity to experience one of the most memorable days of their lives as they walk out with the teams at Wembley. Bridge was part of a team who selected deserving youngsters on behalf of FA Cup title sponsors Emirates to be official mascots for the final.
Bridge told the story of a young Wrexham fan called Mia Matthews, who was selected to walk out alongside the players and was told the news by her favourite Wrexham player Aaron Hayden. Bridge was also there to share the news and revealed her inspiring story.
Mia Matthews will be one of the lucky official mascots at this season's Emirates FA Cup final (Anthony Devlin/Pinpep)“She had stopped attending the matches, sadly, because her grandfather passed away." Bridge explained. “So instead of going to the game, she would basically be spending time with her grandmother to help her. The club [Wrexham] and Emirates thought it would be a lovely thing to give back to Mia.
“I was down there with Josh [Denzel] and we were lucky enough to surprise her and give her the news that she would be going along to the FA Cup final as a mascot, she was absolutely buzzing.”
Working with The FA and non-league clubs, Emirates travelled up and down the country to surprise unsuspecting young fans from teams including Wrexham, Eastbourne Borough, Boreham Wood and Alvechurch.
Emirates have launched a short film with The FA, available , which showcases the stories behind each mascot, their passion for their clubs and how they enjoyed this season’s Emirates FA Cup journey.
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