After blowing a 3-0 lead and requiring a last-minute comeback from Championship team Coventry to win, Manchester United managed to win 4-2 on penalties and advance to the FA Cup final, where they will face Manchester City once more.
Relief fueled their jubilation after Rasmus Hojlund scored the game-winning penalty, since they had nearly lost to an incredible and appalling collapse.
Maybe this was Erik ten Hag’s “Mark Robins moment”—the Coventry manager helped Sir Alex Ferguson keep his job in 1990 by producing a winner in this competition. Ten Hag might have been spared by Hojlund’s spot kick, but Robins’ counterattack revealed every weakness in the Dutchman’s leadership.
In the quarterfinals, Coventry produced a similarly impressive late show against Wolves. However, with 19 minutes remaining, Ellis Simms grabbed one back, setting off a terrifying display from United.
Up until that point, everything had been so easy, with Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire, and Bruno Fernandes placing United in an almost impregnable position. However, Coventry took advantage of United’s play’s fragility and openness as a result of a center-back injury issue.
After Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s handball and Callum O’Hare’s deflected shot went past Andre Onana, Haji Wright equalised from the penalty spot in the 95th minute.
Dramatic extra-time play saw Simms and Fernandes both miss the crossbar. Victor Torp appeared to have scored the game-winning goal on minute 121, but VAR disqualified it for offside against Wright in the build-up.
It appeared as though Coventry would pull off the most amazing FA Cup comeback when Bradley Collins stopped Casemiro’s first penalty of the shootout. However, O’Hare was stopped by Andre Onana, and after Sky Blues skipper Ben Sheaf rocketed over, Hojlund scored a fine penalty to seal the victory.
Ten years after being made to play at Northampton’s stadium, Coventry, the 1987 FA Cup winners, lost in a shootout at Wembley following their play-off final defeat to Luton the previous season. Still another testament to the club’s progress from its darkest days ten years ago.
Ten Hag saw this as a chastening as well as a win. Just two years after it was revealed he would take over as United’s head coach, he has managed to lead his team to an unprecedented 22nd FA Cup final, where they will take on rivals Man City on May 25. But there will be harsh criticism even in the event of success.
Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag:
“Two times in [the final in] two years, that’s a good performance, with all the setbacks we’ve had this season. Mixed feelings is clear. But it’s a huge achievement to be twice in a FA Cup final in two years.
“But of course when you’re so in control and 3-0 up we should bring it over the fence. The way we did it was not good.
“But in the penalty stage how we act there, how determined we were showed good character. But from the 70th minute until the end we made mistakes and it shouldn’t happen.
“We can play on very high levels but also in the same match we can go to very low levels. That’s not explainable. It has to do with managing the game, taking responsibility, keeping organised and making the right decisions.
“I have to teach my players. But the most difficult thing is to put ourselves in a winning position. The second thing is easier. Today we got away with that.
“It’s not an embarrassment, it’s a huge achievement.”
Coventry boss Mark Robins:
“If [the VAR offside decision is] the right call, it’s the right call.
“They are blistering on the counter-attack so you have to be careful how soon you open up. We had to be careful. But we didn’t really participate as an attacking force in the first half. Second half we made a change with the set-up.
“3-0 down then we start to play a little bit. It’s easier to play when you’re 3-0 down. Ellis Simms’ goal looked like it could be a consolation. The second one, it gets everyone’s tails up, the supporters are involved and that was what we were after.
“They started to drop away. They were leggy. We tried to exploit that and ended up getting the penalty for 3-3 and that’s where things started to get interesting! They hit the bar, we hit the bar. Then the offside. I think it was a toenail.
“There’s no criticism with anybody who shows the courage to pick up the ball and have a go with a penalty in that cauldron. I’m really proud of everybody. The supporters were outstanding. This FA Cup run will be spoken bout in Coventry circles for a long, long time.
“We’ve gone toe-to-toe with a Man Utd side and almost won it and lost it on a shootout. Had he cut his toenail we wouldn’t be talking about penalties.
“We performed like Man Utd for that last hour. That’s what I’m proud of. They were really good. That was more of a swashbuckling performance – and that’s how Man Utd usually play.”
On Wednesday, April 24, Coventry will host Hull City in an attempt to reclaim a play-off spot in the Sky Bet Championship.
On Saturday, April 27, Manchester United will play Sheffield United in the Premier League.
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