Rasmus Højlund’s winning penalty fired Manchester United into 2023-24 FA Cup Final with a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Coventry, following a 3-3 draw in a semi-final epic.
Despite Casemiro’s missed spot-kick, Højlund went on to score the winning spot-kick after Callum O’Hare and Ben Sheaf missed for Coventry.
Scott McTominay’s close-range goal and Harry Maguire’s header in the first half initially put Utd in control, with Bruno Fernandes having added their third goal in the 58th minute.
Clinical strikes from Ellis Simms and O’Hare in the 71st and 79th minutes respectively dragged Coventry back into the game, before Haji Wright converted an injury-time penalty to force extra-time after Aaron Wan-Bissaka handballed Luis Binks’ cross.
Speaking to ITV post-match, Maguire praised his team for their grit and determination to win even in spite of blowing their 3-0 lead.
“We found a way. We started the game really well and then conceded a sloppy goal. We were unfortunate to concede the second goal.
“I think the penalty was so hard but all credit to Coventry. They made it tough for us in the second half of extra time.”
“It sums up our season, we had great control and played well for 60 minutes but then we conceded out of nothing. Then I don’t know, it seems like the world wanted Coventry to go on and do it. We showed great character to stick with it and it was important to win the shootout.”
Man Utd will now meet Man City in the final for a second consecutive season on Saturday 25 May, having lost last season’s final by a 2-1 result.
City reached the final after Bernardo Silva netted a late winner against Chelsea in the opening semi-final yesterday (20 April).
Despite having just 15 fit senior players in the matchday squad, Utd enjoyed an energetic start pinning Coventry into their own half, but Alejandro Garnacho missed a chance to put them ahead just six minutes in as he flicked his touch of a knockdown header wide on the volley.
Coventry though were defensively resilient in light of Utd’s dominance and control which forced Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils to play a patient game amidst limited chances during which Marcus Rashford fired Casemiro’s 19th minute long ball wide.
Garnacho then fired over two minutes later from Bruno Fernandes’ corner-kick towards the edge of the box.
Utd’s perseverance was eventually rewarded in the 23rd minute as a free-flowing series from left to right fell for Diogo Dalot, from which the Portuguese slipped a low cross through the reach of Bradley Collins for McTominay to smash into the net.
Coventry however weren’t shaken by that goal as they continued to defend resiliently and found chances to counter-attack, with their efforts rewarded with their first shot as Josh Eccles saw his low strike blocked just five minutes from half-time.
That opportunity proved to be their best hope of staging a fightback but Utd won a corner in the first minute of first-half injury-time after Collins tipped Rashford’s shot over the bar.
From the resulting corner kick, Maguire escaped his marker to nod a bullet header into the bottom-right corner to double the Red Devils’ lead at half-time.
Utd however weren’t prepared to settle for their two-goal lead into the second half as Fernandes curled wide just two minutes into the restart.
That third goal eventually came in the 59th minute after Rashford’s counter-attack was intercepted by Milan van Ewijk, but the Dutchman immediately gifted Fernandes possession to cut in and fire beyond Collins’ reach.
Despite their cup run seemingly fizzling out, Coventry refused to give up and opened up faint hope in the 71st minute, with substitute – Fabio Tavares having curled in a low cross which Simms calmly turned and smashed into the net.
Renewed optimism amongst the Sky Blues further rose eight minutes later as a counter-attack fell for O’Hare who rifled into the top-left corner via a massive deflection off Wan-Bissaka’s back to ignite growing belief of a comeback as Utd began to fear a late meltdown.
Utd’s fears almost became reality in the 85th minute as Victor Torp unleashed a powerful volley from the edge of the box, only for Andre Onana to make a crucial punch to keep Utd’s slim lead intact.
Torp almost completed Coventry’s comeback in the 89th minute as he picked up Wright’s pass as the latter slipped, only for Wright to deflect his shot wide unintentionally as the US international began to get back to his feet.
Coventry continued to push into injury-time and won a penalty in the 93rd minute after Wan Bissaka handled Luis Binks’ cross on his right arm.
Wright stepped up two minutes later to slam the penalty down the middle to complete Coventry’s comeback from 3-0 down and force extra-time.
Once extra time got underway, neither team looked desperate to chase a fourth goal in the first-half of extra-time as Fernandes rattled the bar from Amad Diallo’s cutback pass in the 94th minute.
Ben Sheaf meanwhile rifled wide for Coventry from long range whilst Utd substitute – Omari Forson forced a block from Collins on the cusp of half-time.
Utd went on to dominate much of the second-half of extra-time but neither team found a winner although Coventry went closest, as Wright dragged a 112th minute shot wide across goal evading the bottom-right corner.
Simms meanwhile put a 116th shot onto the crossbar under pressure amidst scrappy defending from United.
Utd’s resistance eventually was broken at the death as Torp poked Wright’s pass into the far-right corner to seemingly seal Coventry’s comeback win, only for Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to controversially adjudge Wright offside in the build-up which sent the tie to penalties.
The penalty shootout began disastrously for United as Casemiro’s spot kick was saved whilst Wright dispatched his kick to put Coventry into an early lead, before Dalot and Torp converted the next two spot kicks as Coventry kept their slender advantage.
Christian Eriksen converted Utd’s third penalty before Andre Onana saved O’Hare’s penalty to restore parity after three penalties apiece.
Fernandes converted Utd’s fourth penalty but Sheaf put his penalty for Coventry over the bar, which handed Højlund the chance to successfully book Utd’s spot in the final as he put his penalty into the bottom-right corner.
What’s Next?
Coventry return their focus to the Championship as they host Hull on Wednesday 24 April at 7:45pm BST at CBS Arena.
Man Utd are in Premier League action that evening as they host relegation battling Sheffield United at Old Trafford in a 8pm kick-off.
Teams
Coventry: Bradley Collins, Joel Latibeaudiere (Tavares 63′, Godden 105′), Bobby Thomas, Liam Kitching (Binks 63′), Jake Bidwell (Dasilva 80′), Josh Eccles (Torp 63′), Ben Sheaf, Callum O’Hare, Milan van Ewijk, Ellis Simms, Haji Wright
Substitutes: Ben Wilson, Luis Binks, Jay Dasilva, Liam Kelly, Jamie Allen, Matty Godden, Victor Torp, Fabio Tavares, Kai Andrews
Manchester United: Andre Onana, Diogo Dalot, Casemiro, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Scott McTominay (Forson 107′), Kobbie Mainoo (Eriksen 72′), Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho (Antony 66′), Rasmus Højlund, Marcus Rashford (Diallo 90+7′)
Substitutes: Altay Bayindir, Harry Amass, Louis Jackson, Habeeb Ogunneye, Amad Diallo, Christian Eriksen, Omari Forson, Antony, Ethan Wheatley
Referee: Robert Jones
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