Manchester United defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 7-6 on penalties to reach 2022-23 FA Cup Final, following a goalless draw at Wembley Stadium.
Brighton dominated an evenly-fought contest but Solly March’s penalty miss proved costly in the shootout, as Victor Lindelof subsequently stepped up and fired in the winning penalty to send Utd into the Final for the first time since 2018.
Speaking post-match to BBC One about scoring the winning penalty, Lindelof commented: “It felt great [scoring the winning penalty]. It was a great relief and we’re glad to be in the final.
“I have confidence in myself and I knew which penalty I wanted to take and that’s what I did.”
Man Utd will now return to Wembley Stadium on Saturday 3 June to face Manchester City in this season’s FA Cup Final, after Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens defeated Sheffield United in their semi-final tie.
After their Europa League exit on Thursday evening, Man Utd began on the front foot against a lively Brighton as neither team struggled to create a chance in the opening five minutes.
Utd’s Antony though conceded the first chance a minute later just outside of the box with a sloppy foul on Kaoru Mitoma from behind, which led Alexis Mac Allister’s resulting free-kick to be punched wide and behind the top-right corner by David De Gea.
Neither team refused to drop their high intensity thereafter and Julio Enciso wasted a chance to put Brighton ahead in the 13th minute, as he put Pascal Gross’ short pass wide of the bottom-left corner.
Utd in-turn went up the other end a minute later as Christian Eriksen played Bruno Fernandes through, yet the Portuguese midfielder saw his shot towards the right corner saved by a fast punch from Roberto Sanchez.
Brighton two minutes later caught Utd’s defence napping as Gross and Solly March played a quick one-two move into the right side of the box, with Mitoma rifling Gross’ pullback pass wide under pressure.
The game subsequently began to become stop-start after March, Fernandes and Marcus Rashford all went down with individual injuries following various clashes, but the trio were all able to continue on the pitch.
Once the high-intensity flow returned, Brighton enjoyed a spell of strong dominance during which Enciso rifled wide, having latched onto a scrappy 32nd minute pass from Mitoma who had been tugged to ground from behind by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Fernandes however almost put Utd ahead on the stroke of half-time as Sanchez’s goal kick to Pervis Estupinan was intercepted by Casemiro, from which the Brazilian fed Fernandes who could only roll his shot wide across goal evading the bottom-left corner.
Martial then rifled over as Erik Ten Hag’s Red Devils continued to pile the pressure on, before Eriksen’s shot was cleared by Sanchez’s right foot in the last chance of the first-half.
Brighton however came out on the front foot after the break which culminated in Estupinan rifling over the bar, after a corner was played out to him situated just outside of the box in the 50th minute.
Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls continued to dominate as Lewis Dunk saw a 56th minute header blocked by De Gea, who then blocked Enciso’s shot before Welbeck headed over from the subsequent corner.
Upon the turn of the hour mark, Utd finally began to up their intensity again which culimated in Sanchez saving Antony’s 64th minute shot, before Enciso fouled Rashford just outside of the box in a subsquent attack.
Fernandes initially hit the wall with his free-kick before he rifled over on the rebound as Utd continued to weather Brighton’s attacks, whilst Sanchez saved a short chipped cross from Fred in the 76th minute.
As extra time loomed, March almost found a 83rd minute winner for Brighton as he cut in from the right at pace but his tightly curled low shot towards the near-right corner was deflected then saved by De Gea.
Neither team were eventually able to find a breakthrough goal in normal time despite March heading over from a 90th minute corner, as Utd clung on to force extra time.
Utd however forced to defend early in the first half of extra-time as Mac Allister rifled over before Diogo Dalot cleared Deniz Undav’s touch of Caicedo’s shot, as De Zerbi’s Seagulls dominated the first half during which Caicedo’s 97th minute long-range strike flew over the bar.
Marcel Sabitzer who came on as a subsitute at start of extra-time meanwhile nodded fellow substiute, Jadon Sancho’s 98th minute cross wide of the top-right corner.
Rashford then saw his 105th minute shot flicked behind by Sanchez who reacted quickly to make the block, as the England international’s shot looked destined for the bottom-right corner.
Brighton though regained the upper hand after the break within extra time, as March collected Caicedo’s pass but saw his tightly-angled shot saved by De Gea in the 107th minute.
Rashford and Casemiro eventually wasted late chances for Utd whilst Estupinan found the side-netting for Brighton in the 113th minute – after De Gea blocked a quick passing move involving Mitoma.
March won a late corner kick in the 119th minute after his shot was deflected into the side-netting but Utd cleared the set-piece, which ultimately meant a penalty shootout in the semi-final stage for the first time since Arsenal beat Wigan in April 2014 after a 1-1 draw.
Mac Allister, Casemiro, Gross, Dalot, Undav, Sancho, Estupinan, Rashford, Dunk and Sabitzer all scored the first five spot-kicks for both teams, which made history as the first semi-final to go to sudden death on penalties.
Webster and Weghorst both converted the first sudden-death spot-kicks before March rifled his spot-kick over the bar.
Lindelof duly stepped up and dispatched his penalty into the top-right corner to seal a record-equalling 21st FA Cup Final appearance for Utd.
Utd will now meet Man City in the first-ever Manchester City to be played at Wembley Stadium in a FA Cup Final, whilst Brighton now turn their focus back to league action as they chase a top-four finish.
What’s Next?
Brighton turn their attention back to their push for a top-four Premier League finish as they visit Nottingham Forest at 7:30pm BST on Wednesday 26 April.
Man Utd meanwhile are back in London a day later on Thursday 27 April as they visit Tottenham in a pivotal league clash at 8:15pm BST in the race for a top-four finish.
Teams
Brighton: Robert Sanchez, Pascal Gross, Adam Webster, Lewis Dunk, Pervis Estupinan, Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister, Solly March, Julio Enciso (Veltman 67′), Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck (Undav 75′)
Substitutes: Jason Steele, Levi Colwill, Deniz Undav, Yasin Ayari, Billy Gilmour, Jan Paul Van Hecke, Joel Veltman, Facundo Buonanotte, Odeluga Offiah
Man Utd: David De Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Malacia 101′), Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, Diogo Dalot, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen (Fred 62′), Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes (Weghorst 101′), Antony (Sabitzer 90′), Anthony Martial (Sancho 85′)
Substitutes: Jack Butland, Tyrell Malacia, Brandon Williams, Fred, Facundo Pellistri, Marcel Sabitzer, Anthony Elanga, Jadon Sancho, Wout Weghorst
Referee: Craig Pawson
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