Fulham secured their first win over Manchester United in the FA Cup since 1908 after a 4-3 penalty shootout victory.
In a turgid affair, neither side produced the quality expected of an all-Premier League FA Cup tie. Late on in the first half, The Cottagers eventually opened the scoring after FA Cup debutant Calvin Bassey turned in a well-worked corner.
United, who were toothless in front of goal, had to be rescued once again by Bruno Fernandes who did well to turn in Diogo Dalot’s fizzed cross.
The game dragged all the way to a penalty shootout, where Victor Lindelöf and Joshua Kirkzee had their spot-kicks saved expertly by Bernd Leno to hand Fulham an historic win.
As it happened
Ahead of their Emirates FA Cup fifth round clash, Manchester United and Fulham fans allied in protest against rising ticket prices. Coming together at Old Trafford, the two sets of supporters were seen holding a banner with the slogan #StopExploitingLoyalty. The same banner could be seen as the players walked out of the tunnel, as United fans openly voiced their opinions against their ownership.
The atmosphere around the Theatre of Dreams was tense and United’s first half performance failed to change the mood. For the majority, they defended well but lacked any real creativity and ingenuity going forwards.
Their most promising moments of attack came just after the 10 minute mark. Fernandes’ effort from the edge of the box was neatly saved by Leno, before Rasmus Højlund blazed a shot high and wide from a narrow angle moments later.
Marco Silva’s side weren’t much better but they gradually grew into the match. They almost opened the scoring in the 37th minute when Alex Iwobi clipped a delightful ball into the box for Saša Lukić. The Serbian had entered the penalty area unmarked but made a mess of the header, which went over the target.
Fulham’s strong end to the half earned themselves a goal in added time. From Andreas Pereira’s out-swinging corner, Rodrigo Muniz glanced a header across the penalty box, which was met by Bassey at the back post. The Nigerian international had nipped in front of Noussair Mazraoui, who was caught on his heels, and directed his header past André Onana.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe onus was now on United but an equaliser began to look more and more unlikely. However, captain Fernandes was on hand to save Ruben Amorim’s side once again. In the 70th minute, he brilliantly turned home Dalot’s fast-paced cross on his weaker left foot to score his eighth goal in his last 12 FA Cup appearances.
The game sparked into life in injury time, as both sides pushed for a winner. In the 94th minute, Emile Smith Rowe had his first time effort tipped past the post by Onana, denying Fulham an historic cup win in 90 minutes.
United then had a flurry of chances in the final moments of injury time. First, Chido Obi-Martin wrestled with Bassey in the box, nearly drawing a penalty, but after winning the ball he skewed his shot wide.
Embed from Getty ImagesUnited then hit Fulham on the counter, as Joshua Zirkzee floated a ball in behind to Alejandro Garnacho, but the Argentine couldn’t get enough power behind his strike to beat Leno. Teenager Obi had a final chance but sent his effort wide after had Matthijs de Ligt chested the ball down in the box.
Neither side truly did enough to win the tie in 90 minutes and so came another 30. Obi, who had been United’s brightest spark since coming on, had a shot resolutely blocked by the right arm of Leno to draw a close to an uneventful first 15 minutes of extra time. It was Fulham’s turn to go close in the second half but Onana did well to stop Ryan Sessegnon’s near post strike.
After 120 minutes, a penalty shootout would decide the fate of Manchester United’s and Fulham’s FA Cup journey. Fernandes, Dalot and Casemiro all comfortably slotted their penalties away in front of the Stretford End, whilst Raúl Jiménez, Sander Berge and Willian countered for Fulham to keep their hopes alive.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe first decisive moment of the shootout came when Victor Lindelöf’s penalty was saved by Leno who read the Swede’s technique and got down well to his right-hand side.
With the opportunity to give his side the advantage, captain Antonee Robinson nonchalantly scored Fulham’s fourth penalty to give them a 4-3 lead. The pressure was on Zirkzee, who did score in United’s shootout win against Arsenal in the third-round, but Leno was up to the task again and brilliantly got down to his left to send Fulham through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
The reigning FA Cup champions bow out in the fifth-round, whilst the Cottagers will host London rivals Crystal Palace in the last eight of the competition.
The lineups
MUN: Onana; Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, De Ligt, Mazraoui; Fernandes, Ugarte; Eriksen, Højlund, Zirkzee
FUL: Leno; Robinson, Bassey, Andersen, Castagne; Lukic, Berge; Iwobi, Pereira, Traoré; Muniz