Manchester United vs Fulham LIVE: FA Cup result after Aleksandar Mitrovic and Willian sent off
Manchester United 3-1 Fulham: The quarter-final turned in five minutes of madness that saw three red cards, two goals and a penalty
Manchester United punished five minutes of madness from Fulham to book their place in the FA Cup semi-finals as they came from behind to win 3-1 at Old Trafford.
Fulham were full value for the lead that Aleksandar Mitrovic gave them five minutes into the second half, but the wheels came off with around 20 minutes left as manager Marco Silva, Willian and Mitrovic were all sent off.
It came after a Fulham corner became a United attack, with substitute Antony racing down the right and squaring for Jadon Sancho. He rounded Bernd Leno but saw his shot blocked on the line by Willian’s hand.
Chris Kavanagh signalled for a corner but was sent to the monitor by VAR Neil Swarbrick, and paused to send off Silva for dissent before he had even reached the screen. The inevitable penalty decision and a red for Willian then came, but Fulham’s total loss of discipline was seen as Mitrovic raged at Kavanagh to earn his own early shower.
Bruno Fernandes sent Leno the wrong way from the penalty spot and two minutes later United led as Marcel Sabitzer flicked home Luke Shaw’s low cross for his first United goal. Fernandes then lashed in United’s third in stoppage time as nine-man Fulham were overrun.
United will play Brighton in the semi-finals, with Manchester City facing Sheffield United on the other half of the draw.
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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