Manchester United manic five minutes sees FA Cup progression against Fulham

Manchester United manic five minutes sees FA Cup progression against Fulham

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United line-up saw four changes to the XI that defeated Real Betis four days ago, with Casemiro serving the first of his four-game domestic ban.

Marcel Sabitzer, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay, and Jadon Sancho were four drafted into the team for the occasion.

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It was Fulham who were served with the better opening chances, with ex-United midfielder Andreas Pereira being handed multiple corners in the opening 10 minutes.

Willian was handed the first good chance of the game, with the Brazilian’s effort curling away off target and not troubling David de Gea – however, has he directed his chance better, it would have been dangerous.

The first shot on target came from the feet of Wout Weghorst, although his shot was too tame and down the middle to cause Bernd Leno any significant impact. Just minutes later, Ream whipped in a fantastic ball towards the back left post of De Gea, but to no avail.

Harry Maguire was booked on 22 minutes, which meant he will be suspended for United’s next fixture in the competition against Brighton in the semi-final.

As the opening 30 minutes drew to a close, it was United who were handed the more significant chances, with both Weghorst and Marcus Rashford finding themselves in good positions but unable to convert.

Sabitzer found himself in some perfect positions to either create or score himself which, despite the lack of goals and overall sub-par performance in the first half, showed that the fixture was there for the taking should United sharpen up their finishing.

McTominay and Sancho combined for a fantastic chance right before half-time, but with the winger choosing to pass overshoot, the opportunity was ultimately squandered.

After no changes were made at half time, the second half started as a carbon copy of the first, with Fulham getting the early chances – however this time they capitalised, with Alexander Mitrovic turning in a corner inside five minutes.

Ten Hag’s first move in an attempt to fix the deficit was to bring Antony on for McTominay just before the hour mark, with the front six shifting positions to accommodate. Rashford moved up front, with Weghorst at No.10, Sancho on the left, and Antony on the right.

De Gea produced a stunning save to keep United in the game and deny Mitrovic a second… and the game completely turned on its head when Fulham received three red cards in just a few minutes: Willian sent off for a handball, Mitrovic sent off for aggravating the referee. Manager Marco Silva was also sent off.

In the midst of it all, Fernandes converted a penalty to equalise for United with 20 t minutes to play – and it took Sabitzer mere minutes to grab one himself and give United the lead.

That five-minute period will probably go down as one of the craziest five-minute periods in Old Trafford history.

With the tie almost certainly in the bag, Ten Hag took the opportunity to switch Rashford for Fred in order to sure up the midfield.

Antony looked lively towards the end, and a fantastic finish from Fernandes in the final moments helped secure a rather spectacular victory for Erik ten Hag and a place in the FA Cup semi-final.