Manchester United defeated Coventry City 4-2 on penalties to reach the FA Cup final, after the Championship side came back from 3-0 down to force Erik Ten Hag’s side to the verge on Saturday.
The victory means United appeared to have all but sealed a repeat of 2023 final against rivals Manchester City when Bruno Fernandes put them three up before the hour, adding to first-half goals from Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.
Ellis Simms got their first in the 71st minute, putting the ball in the back of the net with his right foot in yards of space inside the box, and Callum O’Hare added a second seven minutes later, his shot deflecting off Aaron Wan-Bissaka to wrong-foot goalkeeper Andre Onana.
United fans held their breath when Victor Torp unleashed a superb shot from the edge of the box, and again as Coventry peppered Onana’s goal with the clock ticking down.
And then came that all-too-familiar feeling when referee Robert Jones pointed to the spot in stoppage time after deciding Luis Binks’ shot had hit the arm of Wan-Bissaka as the Video Assistant Referee opted not to overturn the decision and Haji Wright stepped up to make it 3-3.
As if that was not enough in extra time, Wright drilled a shot just past the far post, Simms hit the crossbar and Coventry had a late winner disallowed for a tight offside after Torp thought had completed the most remarkable of comebacks.
Casemiro saw his opening penalty for United saved, but Onana stopped O’Hare’s effort before captain Ben Sheaf put his attempt high over the bar. Rasmus Hojlund converted United’s final spot kick to book United’s place in an all-Manchester final on May 25.
Onana received a second yellow card during the shootout but was not sent off because his first booking was not carried over after extra time. The same thing happened to his Aston Villa counterpart Emiliano Martinez last week in his side’s Europa Conference League quarter-final victory over French club Lille. Onana will not be suspended for the final as accumulated cautions in the FA Cup end in the last eight, according to the Football Association.
O’Hare’s scored to make it 3-2 creating fear in the United side. Coventry continued with their determination, attacking the space behind an underwhelming Marcus Rashford and exploiting Wan-Bissaka’s naivety on balls from wide areas. However several vital interceptions from Diogo Dalot on cut-back crosses prevented the Championship side from scoring a fourth or fifth goal in normal time. In the end, they had to settle for a 95th-minute penalty from Wright to send the game to extra time.
It took 97th-minute introduction of Amad Diallo for Rashford — who hobbled off injured — for United to staunch the bleeding on their left flank and restore a semblance of control, however, by then the damage had already been done. The young Ivorian’s ability to play in tight areas and his precise passing brought to United what Rashford could not provide.
