Manchester United 1-1 Fulham (3-4 pens): FA Cup fifth-round – live
Key events
“I would like to add the there’s a good argument for REM to be considered the best band to come from American shores,” says Matthew Lysaght. “It’s also a pity that Heaven didn’t get number 17 at Utd. A chance missed.”
Ha, agreed. And REM are, for mine, the best band of my music-listening career, though Nirvana also have a shout.
Ruben Amorim is as disappointed as you’d expect. He says his team had the chance to win it with the changes, but the aim is not to win the Cup but the league and they’re improving. He has to recover the players for Sociedad on Thursday and try to push the players that are out, as those involved today are tired. A lot of videos, a lot of recovery, and they’ll be ready.
Back to the draw, Bournemouth away might be the hardest possible game City, the favourites, could’ve been handed. Otherwise, I’d expect Villa to beat Preston and Forest to beat Ipswich but lose to Brighton. I’m really looking forward to the denouement of this competition; with apologies to City fans, it’d be fantastic if literally any other club won it.
The quarter-final draw
Fulham v Palace
Preston v Villa
Bournemouth v Man City
Brighton v Forest or Ipswich
“Steven Benda was Fulham’s keeper in our marathon shootout loss to Preston,” says Lindsay Christison, “and he is the dodgiest ever…”
OK, OK, and Andre Onana is so dodgy he’s too dodgy even to save penalties. I can’t imagine any keeper getting less close to stopping any – save Peter Shilton at Italia 90, obviously, and David de Gea in the 2021 Europa League final.
Here’s the hero of the hour, Bernd Leno, who says he thinks Fulham deserved to win after 90 and 120 – generous, I think – and congratulates his teammates who took penalties. He thinks his team can win the competition, would you believe.
The draw, by the way, is coming right up. Check it out here:
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Well done Fulham, who beat United in the Cup for the first time since 1908. Bernd Leno made two very good saves – from very miserable penalties – and given who’s left, they’ve a pretty decent chance of doing something epochal.
SAVE! Manchester United 3-4 Fulham (Zirkzee) FULHAM ARE INTO THE LAST EIGHT! THE HOLDERS ARE OUT!
The hero at Arsenal takes a dog this time, passing low and softly as Leno guesses right, going right, and it’s an easy save.
GOAL! Manchester United 3-4 Fulham (Robinson)
Onana takes off early, going right, so Robinson calmly rolls left. Zirkzee must score the next one or the holders are gone.
SAVE! Manchester United 3-3 Fulham (Lindelof)
The keeper guesses right, going left, and the ball, hit low, isn’t in the corner or close to it.
GOAL! Manchester United 3-3 Fulham (Willian)
Willian waits, waits, waits, Onana goes left so he passes right.
GOAL! Manchester United 3-2 Fulham (Casemiro)
Punishes into the roof, left-hand side. Players are soo good at these nowadays. Five perfect pens.
GOAL! Manchester United 2-2 Fulham (Berge)
Rammed brilliantly into the roof, near the top-left.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 Fulham (Jimenez)
Opens body, passes firmly into the right side-netting.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-1 Fulham (Jimenez)
Various stutters then a finish into the same corner, a little higher up.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Fulham (Fernandes)
A prompt sweep into the left side-netting.
Alan Shearer notes the first FA Cup tie to go to penalties was at old Trafford – he played, Southampton beating United. it was Ryan Giggs who missed the key kick, juggling the ball on his way to the spot. Anyway, Bruno is ready and off we go!
They toss for ends and Fernandes wins, picking the Stretford End; he also wins the going first spin, and opts to go first.
I’ve a theory that dodgy keepers – your Dudeks, your Beasants and so on – save penalties. If so, United are the likelier winners.
FULL TIME: Manchester United 1-1 Fulham
Penalties it is. United won a shoot-out at Arsenal in the last round; Fulham lost one 16-15 to Preston in this season’s Milk Cup.
120+1 min Dalot hurls every fibre of his corporeality into the hurl, Fulham clear, Casemiro fouls, and that’ll be it.
120 min Or he can curl directly into Onana’s midriff. One additional minute and United have a throw deep inside the Fulham half.
119 min Bassey into Jimenez, who control well, and Mazraoui’s desperate lunge hands Fulham a free-kick near the left corner of the box, seconds left. From this angle, he can aim for the far side-netting and give the keeper a problem: does he come or not?
119 min Alan Shearer gives Fernandes player of the match, and I can’t argue with that. He’s not had one of his better days but he’s still been the pick of a very bad bunch.
117 min Fulham get it away, Mazraoui does well to head Willian’s hit-and-hope away, and Fernandes pirouettes to send United away again, but when Zirkzee allows the pass through his legs, he can’t catch up with it. Of course he can’t.
116 min Zirkzee, who’s improved through the game, gives it away, then robinson gives it back to him, the foul is inevitable, and Fernandes will now hump a free-kick into the box.
115 min “Yeah, apt thread as I am feeling some deep sleep coming on watching this,” says Michael Coppejans. “I would feel negligent to not throw in Pavement’s song about R.E.M.”
114 min Willian’s delivery is decent but somehow everyone in the middle misses it, Obi eventually bringing the ball clear and waiting for Bassey to foul him.
113 min Garnacho collects the ball out in the left, pulls down the line, and crosses to the near post, but Obi can’t quite get there. I know game-state is relevant, but he’s making Hojiund look a little silly with the grief he’s causing. Meantime, Fulham win a corner down the right, Willian to take…
112 min Good work from Mazraoui, taking advanatge of a poor touch to chapeau his marker before flicking back for Casemiro, alongside … whose low curler from the edge is wide of the near post.
111 min A ball in behind for Jimenez, but Heaven sees him away well. He’s looked decent since coming on.
110 min This has been one of the better extra-times I’ve seen and Fulham spread to Sessegnon, who shimmies outside then nips inside Dalot far too easily, drilling a shot that Onana saves low down to his near post.
108 min Good from United, Obi fighting through challenges inside the box and allowing Casemiro to take over, who can’t quite get to the ball in time. He’s played well since coming on, though.
108 min Fulham try Sessegnon for Iwobi.
107 min Again, Garnacho – who’s made a difference – drives forward with the ball, dipping inside to open a shooting lane before wasting over the top.
106 min Excellent work from Fulham, Berge firing into Reed who raises a leg to control superbly, and he finds Jimenez who finds smith Rowe, who should shoot. But instead he squares and heaven makes a fine tackle on Reed, before the flag goes up.
106 min Off we go again. Can anyone find a winner?
HALF-TIME IN EXTRA-TIME: Manchester United 1-1 Fulham
United look the likelier, but penalties look likelier still.
105+2 min The corner comes to nowt and that’ll be all for the first period.
105+1 min Casemiro has made a difference and he feeds a ball in behind for Obi who opts not to hit with his left, opening body to lift with the right … and Leno extends a stiff arm to block behind. He’s been a lot more dangerous than Zirkzee; that was a really good save.
105 min “I’m sure this match has been going on for three days now,” says Gary Weightman, who I’m going to quote when putting in for overtime. One minute added time in extra time.
103 min United continue their search for a winner, Zirkzee doing well to pull wide and square for Obi, Andersen doing even better to time his tackle and win the ball. He’s late there, or he takes the man, and it’s a penalty.
102 min United win a free-kick just inside the Fulham half so send everyone forward and Fernandes sticks into the box, Hayden heading wide from a way out.
101 min Marco Silva sends on Harrison Reed for Lukic.
100 min De Ligt wins a big challenge and the loose ball squirts to Bruno, he clips a lovely disguised reverse-pass in for Obi … whose first touch is heavy. That would’ve been a great chance with decent control, especially for so calm a finisher so, by the standards of this game, that was a chance.
99 min But it’s Lindelof who almost gets them into trouble, a decent cross from Castagne miskicked; he’s lucky Smith rwoe was on heels, allowing Onana to grab.
98 min “Do we not switch ends at the start of extra time?” wonders Michael Robinson. ‘“I’m sure United were kicking at the East Stand in the second half, and they are doing again!”
It’s a fresh toss as I discover that, while I was taking a comfort break, United sent on young Ayden Heaven, recently poached from Arsenal, on for a debut in place of Maguire. That’s a huge risk.
96 min “‘Wasted his best years’ is a bit harsh,” says Dan Christmas on Fernandes – “he’s going to be very well remembered at a club that only really remembers legendary players, when he’s only really very good. Maybe.”
He’s a United legend, though, the Bryan Robson of the Wilderness YearsTM. he dragged United to the Cup last season and was the main reason they won the Littlewoods the one before. Imagine him with players of similar standard and mentality alongside.
95 min United have been the better side the last 10 or so minutes. It’s a low bar, granted, but nevertheless.
93 min Fantastic pass from Casemiro for Garnacho, away in the inside-left channel. But like a Kick-Off 2 player, he can’t get outside of the ball, running in a straight line before walloping high into the side-netting.
92 min Fulham knock it about under no pressure, Iwobi eventually crossing and De Ligt hoofing aimlessly despite there being no attacker within 10 yards of him.
91 min “One thing I like about Bruno Fernandes, says Kári Tulinius, “is that he just doesn’t look like a modern footballer, he looks more like a sad professor (incidentally, Up is the great, under-appreciated R.E.M. album).”
I agree it’s probably their best post-Monster.
