Manchester United secured a record 11th FA Cup victory with a headed goal from Cristiano Ronaldo and a brace from Ruud van Nistelrooy, which included a penalty kick.

At the trophy presentation after the match, the Manchester United players wore shirts bearing the name and number of midfielder Jimmy Davis, who died in a road accident in August 2003.

[8] The BBC broadcast was presented by Gary Lineker, with Alan Hansen, Peter Schmeichel and Michael Owen in the studio, and commentary from John Motson in his 25th FA Cup Final as lead commentator.

[9] Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll appeared to have earned his place in the team for the FA Cup final after a run of good performances between the end of March and mid-April 2004, conceding just two goals in five games, including the semi-final win over Arsenal on 3 April.

[16] The first chances of the match fell to Manchester United's Paul Scholes, who took a couple of long-range efforts at goal – one went just wide while another was tipped away by Millwall goalkeeper Andy Marshall.

United's defence kept Neil Harris and Tim Cahill at bay, and the Red Devils eventually scored a third when Giggs went on a run down the left and crossed for Van Nistelrooy to tap in from three yards out.

[18] Millwall had a chance near the end when substitute Mark McCammon almost found a way through United's defence, while Scholes had a late effort for the Reds, before Curtis Weston (aged 17 years and 119 days) replaced Wise to become the youngest player to appear in an FA Cup final,[17] beating the record set by James F. M. Prinsep of Clapham Rovers, when he appeared in the 1879 FA Cup Final at the age of 17 years and 245 days.

[19] Eriksson's selection of Van Nistelrooy as man of the match was met with criticism from some members of the media, with both the BBC and The Guardian naming Cristiano Ronaldo as the game's best player.

[20][21] Ronaldo received praise from both his manager Alex Ferguson and teammate Gary Neville after the game,[22] as well as BBC pundit Alan Hansen[23] and The Guardian's Andy Gray.

[24] Dennis Wise claimed Ronaldo's goal at the end of the first half proved the turning point in the match, but he felt there were plenty of positives for his team to take from the game.