Man City boss Jeglertz demands tactical perfection for FA Cup showdown

Andree Jeglertz has demanded tactical perfection from Manchester City as they aim to beat Brighton to win the FA Cup.

Man City, fresh from winning the Women's Super League title, will aim to seal the double when they face Brighton at Wembley on Sunday.

This will be the second FA Cup meeting between these sides, with City progressing through a fourth round tie in 2017-18, winning 2-0 away to then second tier Brighton.

However, Brighton, who finished seventh in the WSL, beat City 3-2 last month, making them the only top-flight team to score three goals in a game against the Citizens across all competitions this term.

And Jeglertz knows City will have to be at their very best.

"Brighton are a tricky team they have a lot of tactical changes during the game," he said.

"It's a team we need to be on the front foot so we need to be tactically perfect.

"Last game they scored some goals in moments when we lost patience that will not happen on Sunday.

"Of course, I'm fully prepared that they will have some tactical things that we haven't forecasted or seen before but were ready for that also."

This will be City's fifth appearance in an FA Cup final, and their first since losing 3-2 after extra-time to Chelsea in 2021-22. They have won each of their other three finals, in 2017 (4-1 vs Birmingham), 2019 (3-0 vs West Ham) and 2020 (3-1 vs Everton). 

Brighton, meanwhile, have reached the showpiece match for the first time. The last three final debutants have all lost without scoring. In fact, only two of 11 debutants this century have lifted the trophy: Birmingham City in 2012 (beat Chelsea on penalties) and Manchester City in 2017 (4-1 v Birmingham).

And Brighton boss Dario Vidosic has extra motivation, having gone through the deaths of his father and brother in recent months.

"I saw what Dad had to go through and how hard he fought through it," Vidosic told The Telegraph.

"It showed me how hard he was and how much you have to work hard for everything and what he did to provide us with everything in life."