LONDON – Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final on Saturday to become the first team to win the English treble of league championship and both domestic cups in spectacular style.
The victory matched the competition’s record final win – set when Bury beat Derby County 116 years ago – and was a fair reflection of yet another command performance by one of the best teams in the history of the English game.
Coming after they retained the Premier League title last week and won the League Cup in a penalty shootout over Chelsea, City’s sixth FA Cup triumph made them the eighth team to win the prized League and FA Cup double and first since Chelsea in 2010.
“It was an incredible final for us and we have finished an incredible year,” City manager Pep Guardiola told the BBC. “To all the people at the club a big congratulations, especially the players because they are the reason why we have won these titles.”
City led 2-0 at half-time through David Silva and Sterling and effectively sealed the deal when Kevin de Bruyne came off the bench to smash in the third after 61 minutes.
Gabriel Jesus slotted the fourth before Sterling, who was brought up in Wembley, took centre stage with two more in the last 10 minutes to becoming the first player to score an FA Cup final hat-trick since Stan Mortensen in 1953 when Blackpool beat Bolton 4-3 in the “Matthews Final”.
Other than one early chance for Roberto Pereyra, Watford never looked remotely capable of ending their 30-year winless run against City in their second appearance in the final having lost to Everton in 1984. (Reuters)
