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United: Bizarre scenes in almost disgrace
Manchester United embarrassed themselves to the bone in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. The Red Devils lose a 3-0 win against a second division team and still advance in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Rasmus Höjlund celebrates alone
© IMAGO/Every Second Media
What kind of crazy game was that? Manchester United embarrassed themselves in the semi-finals of the FA Cup despite winning! At Wembley Stadium in London, the Red Devils had already led 3-0 against second division club Coventry City and thus virtually had the final against local rivals Manchester City in their pocket.
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But then crazy scenes took place and United lost their lead with the best line-up, had to go into extra time and then won 4-2 on penalties. “They almost embarrassed themselves in the end. I don’t like what I see when I watch this team. I don’t see any leading players,” complained club icon Roy Keane on ITV1. “United looked like the second division team.”
Captain Bruno Fernandes also agreed: “We put ourselves in a bad situation and should have ended it beforehand. The standard of this club is much higher. We have to get so much better.” Defender Harry Maguire, however, said: “It seems as if everyone wanted Coventry to progress. We showed great character by sticking with it.”
Bizarre scenes after penalty victory
Casemiro’s first shot in the shootout was parried straight away by keeper Brad Collins. However, Diogo Dalot, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Höjlund scored afterwards. Haji Wright and Victor Torp scored for the underdogs. But with Callum O’Hare and Ben Sheaf, the shooters number three and four missed out. O’Hare was denied by Andre Onana and Sheaf shot over.
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After Höjlund’s decisive goal in the shootout, bizarre scenes took place on the pitch. The winner himself ran jubilantly towards the stands and celebrated exuberantly. The majority of his colleagues waiting in the center circle didn’t move, and there was no sign of any cheering.
Only Eriksen and two other players slowly trotted towards the goal towards Höjlund, who was standing alone in front of the fans. Large parts of the team were obviously shocked by their previous performance.
Offensive player Antony also caused a lot of dissatisfaction among the (own) fans, as he made an apparently malicious gesture towards the opponent after the penalty shootout. The Brazilian looked towards the Coventry professionals and put his hands behind his ears. The gesture may also have been aimed at the underdog’s fans. Many users on social media thought it was an unworthy scene, especially after the quasi-embarrassment.
Manchester United collapses completely after 3-0
Before that, a wild 120 minutes had taken place. Scott McTominay (23rd), Harry Maguire (45th+1) and Bruno Fernandes (59th) made the fans of the seventh-placed team in the Premier League dream of a confident entry into the final.
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And then coach Erik ten Hag’s team collapsed completely. The result: The eighth-placed team from the second division came within 2-3 thanks to goals from Ellis Simms (71′) and Callum O’Hare (79′) and achieved the incredible in stoppage time.
Because United’s defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka had his hand on the ball, a penalty was awarded. Former Schalke player Haji Wright scored and secured extra time (90+5).
United were really lucky there when Simms only hit the bottom edge of the crossbar (116th). In the 121st, the blatant outsider was already celebrating the supposed 4:3. But the VAR whistled back Victor Torp’s goal due to offside.