By Samuel A. April 21, 2024
Man United overcame an astonishing collapse to beat Coventry on penalties in an FA Cup classic on Sunday, setting up a second straight FA Cup final against Manchester City. Erik ten Hag’s men won the shootout at Wembley 4-2, with Rasmus Hojlund scoring the decisive spot kick after the teams were level at 3-3 after extratime. The game perfectly showed how terrible the season has been for Ten Hag’s men, who are well off the pace in the Premier League and had a Champions League campaign to forget.
There was no hint of what was to come when United coasted into a 3-0 lead against the Championship side in the London sunshine, with a tap in from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire’s header and Bruno Fernandes’ sublime finish setting the pace for the Red Devils, however, they have made a habit of tossing away leads in recent weeks and the match against Coventry wasn’t any different. Coventry, who scored twice in stoppage time to beat Premier League Wolves in the quarter-finals, struggled to make inroads against an organised United team initially, before they began to look brighter in the early stages of the second half.
The wind seemed to be taken out of their sails when Fernandes’s shot found its way past Collins in the 58th minute, courtesy of a deflection off defender Bobby Thomas.
Ellis Simms started a comeback that wasn’t foreseen after netting from a cross from the right. Callum O’Hare’s deflected shot minutes later gave the 1987 FA Cup winners momentum, before Haji Wright levelled from the penalty spot in the 95th minute, capping a scarcely credible comeback.Coventry fans taunted Ten Hag with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” as belief infused the massed ranks of supporters clad in blue.
The team’s push to reach the Championship playoffs had faded in recent weeks and they traveled to Wembley as underdogs despite United’s stuttering season. Coventry looked the more likely winners in 10 long minutes of stoppage time but could not find a winner. United captain Fernandes rattled the crossbar in the fourth minute of extra time when set up by substitute Amad Diallo. Simms then smashed a shot off the underside of the crossbar as time ran out. Coventry thought they had won it in the dying moments when Torp poked the ball past Andre Onana but a VAR check ruled that Wright was marginally offside.
The Championship side drew first blood in the shootout when Casemiro’s weak penalty was saved by Collins. But O’Hare and captain Ben Sheaf failed to convert, leaving Hojlund with the job of sending United through and he made no mistake.
Manchester United will now face Manchester City in a derby showdown for the second year in a row for the FA Cup.
