FA Cup draw LIVE: Man City and Manchester United learn semi-final fate
The draw took place before Manchester United defeated Fulham at Old Trafford
Manchester City will play Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals while Brighton will face Manchester United.
Manchester City were the first team to progress to Wembley after Pep Guardiola’s side destroyed Burnley 6-0 in the opening quarter-final, courtesy of another hat-trick from Erling Haaland, and will play another Championship side in the last four. Sheffield United prevailed against Blackburn in a thrilling tie, but could have to face City without match-winner Tommy Doyle and James McAtee, who are on loan from the Premier League club.
Brighton advanced to the semi-finals thanks to a 5-0 win over Grimsby Town, whose run came to an end. Roberto de Zerbi’s side will face Manchester United, following nine-man Fulham’s extraordinary collapse at Old Trafford.
Follow live updates from the FA Cup quarter-finals, below, which continues with Manchester United vs Fulham
Fulham exit FA Cup in disgrace after five minutes of madness
As Manchester United moved a step nearer a cup treble, Fulham mustered a less welcome hat-trick of their own. At a ground with a statue of United’s holy trinity, Fulham instead had their own unholy trinity. On a day when they excelled for 70 minutes, they instead exited the FA Cup in disgrace. The rarity of three red cards in between the ball being kicked, and at a time when Fulham were still leading, irrevocably altered a quarter-final and enabled United to turn the tie around. Bruno Fernandes and Marcel Sabtizer struck in swift succession with the Portuguese adding an injury-time third as Fulham, like Barcelona and Manchester City before them, led at Old Trafford and then lost.
But not in such extraordinary circumstances. Because if Fulham lost a chance to close in on a first major trophy in their 144-year history, they also lost their heads. Only Willian of the expelled trio could merit any sympathy: he had blocked Jadon Sancho’s shot on the line with his hand in what was almost a brilliant bit of defending. But manager Marco Silva and top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic saw red for their confrontations with referee Christopher Kavanagh. Until then, Silva’s gameplan had been terrific and executed wonderfully and Mitrovic had produced a superb display. Now fines and bans beckon after each let his side down.
Read Richard Jolly’s report on an extraordinary afternoon
Fulham exit FA Cup in disgrace after five minutes of madness
Manchester United 3-1 Fulham: Marco Silva’s side lost their heads as the manager, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Willian were sent off in a stunning implosion in the FA Cup quarter-finals
Sheffield United hero Tommy Doyle faces Wembley heartache after FA Cup draw
Sheffield United’s FA Cup hero Tommy Doyle faces Wembley heartache after the Blades were drawn against the on-loan midfielder’s parent club Manchester City in the semi-finals.
The 21-year-old would have been hoping to follow in the footsteps of his grandfathers Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe by playing at the national stadium after firing the Blades into the last four with a stunning injury-time strike in the thrilling 3-2 win against Blackburn.
But the semi-final draw was not kind, pairing Sheffield United with City, a tie for which under the competition’s rules for loan players Doyle and fellow loanee James McAtee will be ineligible.
FULL TIME! Manchester United 3-1 Fulham
Fulham boss Marco Silva on Mitrovic’s red card: “In that moment he has to control his emotions much more like all of us should. You have to keep the emotional balance of course. Sometimes it is not easy but it is our obligation to do it. It’s been a tough season in some moments for us. We know that we are Fulham, we don’t have the same importance in football as some others but it’s difficult for us to deal with some situation.”
Fulham’s collapse will dominate the post-match discussion here, rather than Manchester United’s win. Marco Silva’s side were the better team but they lost their heads completely.
You would imagine Mitrovic might face further punishment after his reaction to the referee.
FULL TIME! Manchester United 3-1 Fulham
A stunning five minutes of madness there, as Manchester United came from behind to defeat nine-man Fulham and set up a FA Cup semi-final with Brighton at Wembley.
GOAL! Manchester United 3-1 Fulham (Fernandes 90+5’)
Fernandes wraps up a crazy comeback! Fulham were caught short at the back as United came forward, and Fernandes thumps his finish into the net.
Manchester United 2-1 Fulham
90+4 mins: United are currenly heading for a very busy April, with their involvement in the FA Cup, Europa League and Premier League. Lots to play for, which is the complete opposite to this time last season.
Fulham’s Joao Palhinha wins man of the match, which kind of shows how well Fulham were doing before the five minutes of madness.
Manchester United 2-1 Fulham
90 mins: There will be seven minutes added on. Fulham haven’t really been able to offer anything since going down to nine.
Manchester United 2-1 Fulham
89 mins: According to Opta, there were just 265 seconds between Willian’s red card and Sabitzer’s goal, as Fulham completely fell apart.
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