Manchester United made a remarkable recovery and won against Coventry in an exciting FA Cup match, earning a spot in the final against Manchester City.
Erik ten Hag’s team won the shootout at Wembley 4-2, with Rasmus Hojlund scoring the important spot kick after the teams were tied at 3-3 following extra time.
The game perfectly represented a chaotic season for Ten Hag’s team, which is not performing well in the Premier League.
United easily scored three goals against their second-tier opponents, but then struggled to maintain their lead.
However, they have been consistently losing their lead in recent games.
Late goals from Ellis Simms and Callum O’Hare gave the 1987 FA Cup winners hope, and Haji Wright leveled from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, completing a remarkable comeback.
Coventry fans mocked Ten Hag with chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” as belief grew among the supporters.
A tense period of extra time followed, with both teams hitting the woodwork, before United remained calm and won the shootout.
Ten Hag told ITV, “It was an incredible game, a strange game too. We had total control for so long and then gave it away in the last part of the game. We did show resilience to win the penalty shootout.”
“We have to improve,” he added. “We talk a lot about this. First, you have to put yourself in a winning position but then you have to take it over the line.”
– Robins factor –
Coventry manager Mark Robins was a crucial part of United’s FA Cup victory in 1990, which marked the beginning of two decades of success under Alex Ferguson.
But his team’s attempt to reach the Championship play-offs has faded recently, and they were considered underdogs despite United’s struggling season.
United, a 12-time winner of the competition, took an early lead in the 23rd minute after a good play down the right side finished by McTominay.
Marcus Rashford forced a good save from Bradley Collins late in the first half, and United doubled their lead from the resulting corner, with Maguire heading home Fernandes’s cross.
Coventry, who scored twice in stoppage time to beat Premier League team Wolves in the quarter-finals, looked more promising in the early stages of the second half.
But their spirits dropped when Fernandes’s deflected shot found its way past Collins in the 58th minute.
Coventry scored a goal when their top-scorer Simms connected with a cross from substitute Fabio Tavares in the 71st minute, and O’Hare reduced the deficit further.
The team’s fans became very supportive as their team launched several attacks, and they managed to equalize in the 95th minute when Wright scored from the penalty spot after Aaron Wan-Bissaka was judged to have handled the ball.
Fernandes hit the crossbar early in the first period of extra time when set up by substitute Amad Diallo.
Simms then hit a shot off the underside of the crossbar as time started to run out.
Coventry believed they had won but then learned that Wright was offside when Torp scored.
Casemiro's first penalty was stopped by Collins during the shootout.
O’Hare and captain Ben Sheaf missed their chances, leaving Hojlund to secure United's victory.
A disappointed Robins described the defeat as feeling like a "kick in the teeth".
The coach emphasized that the team's performance has secured a place in the club's history.
Manchester City, who defeated United in the 2023 final, narrowly beat Chelsea 1-0 in the other semi-final on Saturday.
This is only the second time in the competition’s history that the same two teams have reached successive finals, the first since 1885.
AFP
