The dramatic scene outside Wembley ahead of the FA Cup final (Picture: Alamy Live News.)
Tensions have erupted outside Wembley this afternoon as police clash with football fans.
The stadium is playing host to 90,000 sell-out crowd, with Manchester United and Manchester City battling it out in the FA Cup final.
Dramatic photos show football fans being pulled to the ground by officers ahead of kick-off.
A flare is removed from a supporter in one image.
90,000 fans have travelled to Wembley for the crunch match (Picture: Alamy Live News.)
One man is led away from the stadium by officers (Picture: Alamy Live News.)
Police forcibly remove a flare from a football fan (Picture: Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
Some 1,200 officers have been deployed to police the game (Picture: Alamy Live News)
History has already been made in the match, with City captain Ilkay Gundogan scoring the fastest goal in a FA Cup final.
Gundogan beat United goalkeeper David de Gea with a brilliant volley after just 13 seconds of Saturday’s all-Manchester FA Cup final.
Ex-England midfielder Jermaine Jenas said on BBC One: ‘It’s just a moment of brilliance from the Manchester City captain.
‘We’re used to seeing Man City play out from the back but here they go back to Stefan Ortega and then long to Erling Haaland.
‘The technique is something else. Ilkay Gudogan has stepped up with important goals at the end of the season and he’s done it again.
Manchester City’s German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan shoots to score the early opening goal (Picture: Getty Images)
It was described as a ‘moment of brilliance’ (Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP)
‘There’s absolutely nothing David de Gea can do. You can’t legislate for type of finish.’
Rail strikes have left several major train stations almost entirely empty, despite the throng of fans travelling to Wembley.
Manchester Piccadilly station, where the majority of supporters for the teams in the FA final are coming from, was also photographed empty today.
This is because around 12,000 members of the drivers’ union Aslef and the Rail, Maritime and Train (RMT) union are on strike over pay and working conditions.
The industrial action has affected 15 train companies and around 40% of trains, according to the Rail Delivery Group.
Trains that do run are due to start later and finish much earlier than usual, between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
Some 1,200 police officers have been deployed to make sure everything goes smoothly.
The Met and the British Transport Police are joining forces while Greater Manchester Police are sending some of their own, who ‘know their fans’ to keep tensions between supporters at bay.
Back in 2011, when the two Manchester teams played against each other at Wembley in an FA Cup semi-final, dramatic fights broke out between fans near the stadium and 34 arrests were made.
But, besides dealing with this long-standing rivalry, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner Ade Adelekan said today that there is ‘no intelligence’ to suggest the fact the match is a derby will lead to a spike in violence.
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Police were seen removing flares from one fan.
