Darts sensation Luke Littler has told Pep Guardiola that his Manchester City team were outplayed in the FA Cup final by Manchester United, despite the Spaniard claiming his side were the better team on the day.
United put in a strong performance to win the FA Cup final over their biggest rivals to mark their disastrous season with a positive ending, beating the reigning champions 2-1 at Wembley Stadium. United weren't given much of a chance before kick off, but found themselves 2-0 up by half-time thanks to goals from teenage stars Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
Littler constantly posts about United on social media and his love for the team has even been shown at the darts, as he trolled local fans when the Premier League Darts was hosted in Liverpool. Now, Littler has turned his attention to City, slamming Guardiola for his comments after losing the final to United.
"When Pep Guardiola said after the final that City played the better football, no chance," Littler told Mirror Football in New York ahead of the U.S. Darts Masters. "We deserved it, and they shouldn't have scored as well. I was just confident anyway."
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Despite starting the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva in attack, City struggled to create chances and only found a breakthrough after Jeremy Doku came off the bench. Even his effort needed some good fortune, as United goalkeeper Andre Onana fumbled his shot into the side netting.
United deserved the victory and their win put a dampener on City's end of season celebrations, despite winning a record fourth-straight Premier League title. Guardiola was unhappy after the final whistle and admitted he made some tactical errors, but still maintained that City were the better team.
When being asked if the better team won, Guardiola said: "No. They didn't have the chances that we had. In the second half, we were there all the time. United have been a transition team for 10, 20, 30 years.
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"In the first half, we struggled a little bit and in the second half, we were better until we found our moment. We scored a bit late with the chances we had with Erling (Haaland) and Julian (Alvarez). In general, it was a good performance considering the final."
Fellow darts star Michael Smith is also a big United fan, and admitted that he hasn't watched much this season due to their poor form. But he also watched the final, and gave his assessment to Mirror Football. "I just think finally he (Erik ten Hag) virtually had his starting eleven, and you see what they did," Smith told Mirror Football.
"They all ran at City and Mainoo literally put Haaland in his pocket. Great tactics by Ten Hag. It was just 'let them do what they want and catch them with a ball over the top' and when we went to the right, Walker was always there, but when we went to the left you see the pace from Garnacho he took over. Tactics were perfect."
United's win meant another trophy for manager Erik ten Hag, despite speculation that he would be sacked regardless of the result. There has been a strong reaction from United fans pleading with the club to keep Ten Hag in charge, and that's been backed by both Littler and Smith.
"Please to god that (Jim) Ratcliffe keeps Ten Hag. He's been the first manager since Ferguson to win back-to-back trophies. He's one of the only few coaches that won a trophy in every season as a manager. If we get rid of him, who do you bring in?" Smith added.
"(Roberto) De Zerbi, has he ever won a trophy? (Mauricio) Pochettino bottled it at PSG, Chelsea, Spurs, do you want him? You've got to give Ten Hag a chance, hopefully we do." Littler then added: "I want him to stay, I wanted him to even if we lost."