Brighton 6-7pen Manchester United: Manchester United have reached the FA Cup final. Erik ten Hag’s team won after penalties against Brighton & Hove Albion. United will meet rivals Manchester City in the final.
Ten Hag with Man Utd after penalties against Brighton qualify to FA Cup final
As expected, Ten Hag started with the two Dutchmen on the bench. Diogo Dalot replaced Tyrell Malacia and up front Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Antony Wout kept Weghorst out of the starting line-up. There were also two Dutchmen on the bench at Brighton. Joël Veltman returned from his injury sooner than expected, so he was already in the match selection on Sunday and Jan Paul van Hecke was also on the bench.
Manchester United continued the prize hunt against Brighton & Hove Albion, having already won the League Cup. On Thursday it became clear that the FA Cup is the only prize that Manchester United is still playing for. United were outclassed by Sevilla, so the Europa League adventure is over.
With Brighton, United hit a dangerous customer. It has lost just one of its last nine games and already won against Manchester United earlier this season. And United also had a hard time. Brighton had the upper hand in large phases of the game, although the odds were well balanced.
Halfway through the second half, Roberto De Zerbi brought Veltman in. Even with Veltman in the back, Brighton succeeded very well in defusing Manchester United’s attack impulses. As a result, both teams went into extra time at 0-0. Malacia and Weghorst also came in during extra time.
Extra time
In extra time, Manchester United came close again, but Robert Sánchez had an impressive reaction to a shot from Marcus Rashford. On the other hand, Kaoru Mitoma also had a huge chance just before the end. He did not take the ball well five meters from the goal line, so that he saw a hero role slip through his fingers.
Penalties
So penalties had to bring the decision. Alexis Mac Allister, Casemiro, Pascal Gross, Diogo Dalot, Deniz Undav, Jadon Sancho, Pervis Estupinán, Marcus Rashford, Lewis Dunk, Marcel Sabitzer, Adam Webster and Wout Weghorst all use their penalty. Solly March eventually worked his penalty high over and Victor Lindelöf fired United into the final.
After Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s team is also in the FA Cup final. That match will be played on Saturday, June 3.
