Manchester United’s season went from bad to worse as they were sent crashing out of the FA Cup after losing a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw with Fulham at Old Trafford. Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee botched their spot-kicks as the visitors ran out 4-3 winners after penalty kicks, despite United winning the coin toss and kicking first in front of the Stretford End.
A brilliant Bruno Fernandes strike cancelled out Calvin Bassey’s first-half header but the teams couldn’t be separated after extra-time. And after winning their previous shootouts against Arsenal this season and in the semi-finals against Brighton in 2023 and Coventry in 2024, they could not keep their nerve from 12 yards.
The first half was even but uninspiring and Fulham grabbed the lead right before the break when Bassey headed home from a corner, deep-finning United’s woes from set pieces. It was the 13th goal the Red Devils have conceded this season from corners, more than any other Premier League team.
Amorim threw on Garnacho early in the second half and the Argentine gave th team some much needed spark but it was Fernandes who made the difference, slotting into the bottom corner after Dalot, released by Garnacho, had rolled the ball across the box. Fulham continued to cause problems though and it took two fine saves from Andre Onana to prevent substitute Emile Smith Rowe from scoring.
Chido Obi’s arrival from the bench brought a sense of chaos and he looked gloriously raw, terribly mis-controlling a Fernandes pass but still fashioning three chances, twice missing the target from close range and being denied by Bernd Leno. Onana made another good save in the extra-period to save from Ryan Sessegnon but couldn’t reach any of the penalties. It meant United lost their first FA Cup tie outside of the 2023 final since they were knocked out in the fourth round in 2022 on spot-kicks by Middlesbrough. And their only hope of getting back into Europe is to win the Europa League, which feels completely beyond them.
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