FA Cup 3rd Round: Wigan Athletic 0-2 Manchester United
The 2023/24 FA Cup campaign began with an away trip to League One side Wigan Athletic.
United had received a substantial allocation of nearly 8,000 – as the Reds earned a first away tie in 12 outings.
In a game that saw Erik ten Hag’s side record a staggering 33 attempts on the Latics goal, with 11 on target, Diogo Dalot and a Bruno Fernandes penalty sealed a 2-0 victory.
It was a nice outing for the youngsters, with Willy Kambwala, Hannibal Mejbri, Omari Forson and Facundo Pellistri earning valuable playing time.
FA Cup 4th Round: Newport County 2-4 Manchester United
Once more on the road, United travelled to the then-lowest-ranked side left in the competition – Newport County.
André Onana was unavailable due to his inclusion in the Cameroon camp for the African Cup of Nations – leading to Altay Bayindir making his sole appearance for the club.
The Reds eased to a two-goal lead after 13 minutes, which worryingly evaporated at the beginning of the second half.
Thankfully, out-of-form winger Antony scored his first goal of the season, and Rasmus Højlund finished the League Two side off to avoid any embarrassment for the club.
FA Cup 5th Round: Nottingham Forest 0-1 Manchester United
It appeared this tie was heading for extra time until a late header from Casemiro sent United to the Quarter-Final of the competition.
Ten Hag’s side conceded 16 shots in the game but did manage to record 20 of their own.
Sofyan Amrabat filled the left-back position due to injuries, and the centre-back pairing consisted of Victor Lindelöf and Raphaël Varane.
Questions continued regarding performances, but the side found a way to get the job done on the day.
The victory came on either side of league defeats at home to Fulham and away to Manchester City.
FA Cup Quarter-Final: Manchester United 4-3 Liverpool AET
A travelling contingent of 9,000 Liverpool supporters arrived at Old Trafford on St. Patrick’s Day, hoping their quadruple hopes would remain alive.
United took an early lead, and it could have been more until two late first-half strikes from Alexis Mac Allister and Mohammed Salah left United behind at the interval.
Ten Hag’s group looked down and out until a goal on the half turn from Antony meant there was to be another 30 minutes of play at minimum.
Harvey Elliott gave Jürgen Klopp’s side the lead on the brink of halftime of extra time. Players on the pitch were nurtured back from injury – playing over 100 minutes – with Bruno Fernandes playing at centre-back and Antony at left-back.
Rashford levelled the game for the third time in the 112 minutes before a late Amad Diallo goal in the 121st minute meant we were headed for Wembley again.
Amad held his jersey for all to see before being carded for the second time. Old Trafford was rocking once again, and it felt like it was to be the turning point in the season.
FA Cup Semi-Final: Coventry City 3-3 Manchester United AET (2-4 on penalties)
The club went from featuring in one of the best FA Cup fixtures in recent years to one of the worst from United’s perspective.
The Reds took a 2-0 lead into the interval before making it 3-0 in the 58th minute. A place in the final looked all but sealed until a goal from Ellis Simms in the 71st minute led to an astonishing comeback from the Championship side.
Callum O’Hare made it 3-2 in the 79th minute to keep the dream alive before a penalty in the 95th minute after a handball from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Haji Wright completed the comeback from the spot, sending the game to extra time. Two additional halves of fifteen minutes came to a dramatic end when it seemed like Coventry had pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in FA Cup history – Victor Torp slotting the ball past Onana in the 121st minute, only for VAR to interject.
Ten Hag’s side ensured back-to-back FA Cup Final appearances after winning the penalty shootout, with Rasmus Højlund scoring the winning goal.
The FA Cup final
The travelling Reds will be hoping for a different outcome this Saturday, having suffered defeat by two goals to one 12 months prior.
The 12-time FA Cup champions will have their work cut out for them facing Pep Guardiola and his side, but positives exist heading into the game.
United are on a two-game winning streak, and Rasmus Højlund found the net in both. The club have also had injury boosts, with the return of Mason Mount and Anthony Martial on Thursday and Raphaël Varane returning to the pitch in the 2-0 win over Brighton last Sunday.
Can Manchester United pull off what seems impossible and prevent the blue side from winning back-to-back FA Cup titles? Let us know below.
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