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Red Devils beat Liverpool 4-3 in FA Cup quarter-final while Chelsea defeat Leicester to book last-four spot
Amad Diallo settled a thrilling FA Cup quarter-final with a last-gasp strike in extra-time as Manchester United beat Liverpool 4-3 to end the Reds’ hopes of a quadruple in Jurgen Klopp‘s final season in charge.
Erik ten Hag‘s side took the tie into extra-time after substitute Antony struck in the 87th minute, and after falling behind again to Harvey Elliott‘s deflected strike, Marcus Rashford and then Amad scored to set up a semi-final against Championship side Coventry City at Wembley Stadium on the weekend of 20-21 April.
In the day’s other quarter-final, Chelsea edged past 10-man Leicester City 4-2 thanks to stoppage-time goals from substitutes Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke. The Blues will face holders Manchester City in the semi-finals, after Pep Guardiola‘s men beat Newcastle United 2-0 on Saturday.
FA Cup semi-final draw
Coventry v Man Utd
Chelsea v Man City
What do the results mean for Premier League fixtures?
Three Matchweek 34 fixtures have been postponed due to semi-finals being played on the weekend of 20-21 April. Man Utd’s home meeting with Newcastle, Chelsea‘s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion and Man City’s visit to Tottenham Hotspur will all now be rescheduled.
Amad settles epic cup tie
Ten Hag was able to hand recalls to the fit-again Rasmus Hojlund and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with Casemiro and Jonny Evans not named in the matchday squad.
Casemiro injury situation explained
Mohamed Salah was included in Liverpool’s starting XI, while Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz came back into the side.
After a breathless start to the contest, Man Utd went in front in the 10th minute through Scott McTominay. Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher could only parry Alejandro Garnacho‘s shot into the path of the Scot,
Liverpool turned the cup tie on its head with two goals at the end of the first half.
First Darwin Nunez laid the ball off for Mac Allister, whose shot took a deflection off the boot of Kobbie Mainoo before going in.
Then in the second minute of added time, Nunez’s shot was spectacularly saved by Andre Onana, only for the ball to fall to Salah, who took a touch before lashing in.
Ten Hag introduced Antony, Amad and Christian Eriksen from the bench in search of a late equaliser, and with three minutes remaining, Antony spun inside the penalty area before shooting low past Kelleher to level.
Both sides had late chances to win the tie in normal time, with Liverpool substitute Elliott striking against the woodwork before deep into stoppage time, Rashford collected Eriksen’s sumptuous chipped pass, but could only guide his shot inches wide of a post.
Liverpool retook the lead in the 105th minute when Elliott’s shot from 20 yards out took a deflection off Eriksen and went through the legs of fellow substitute Harry Maguire before nestling into the bottom-left corner.
who tucked away the rebound.
But back came United and they levelled in the 112th minute through Rashford, who stroked into the bottom-right corner having been played in by McTominay.
Man Utd manager says 4-3 FA Cup win over Liverpool can be a catalyst for strong end to campaign
After McTominay could only poke a shot agonisingly wide of a post, Elliott lost possession to Amad deep in the Man Utd half following a Liverpool corner.
Garnacho raced forward before passing to Amad, who drove into the penalty area and moved the ball onto his left foot before scuffing a low shot into the bottom-right corner.
Amad, who had already been shown a yellow card six minutes earlier, was booked again for removing his shirt in his celebrations and sent off. But it mattered not as United sealed their semi-final spot.
Report: United 4 Liverpool 3
Liverpool exit FA Cup after dramatic 4-3 defeat at Old Trafford
Late goals send Chelsea through
Mauricio Pochettino made two changes from the team that beat Newcastle 3-2 in the Premier League, with Robert Sanchez replacing Djordje Petrovic in goal while Mykhailo Mudryk came in for the suspended Enzo Fernandez. Ben Chilwell was back among the substitutes for the Blues.
Chelsea took the lead on 14 minutes through Marc Cucurella, who tapped in from close range from Nicolas Jackson‘s ball across the area.
The Blues had a glorious opportunity to double their advantage when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Raheem Sterling by Abdul Fatawu, but Sterling’s weak spot-kick was comfortably saved by the legs of Jakub Stolarczyk.
Pochettino’s side did make it 2-0 in first-half added time when Sterling raced down the left before squaring for Cole Palmer to slot in from six yards.
Chelsea let Leicester back into the match in the 52nd minute when Axel Disasi, who was being pressurised by Patson Daka, overhit his backpass from 35 yards out, and with Sanchez off his line, the ball bounced once before going in.
Leicester then levelled 11 minutes later, Stephy Mavididi driving into the penalty area before bending a shot into the far corner of the net.
But Leicester’s hopes of a cup upset were dealt a serious blow when Callum Doyle was sent off after bringing down Jackson when the Chelsea forward was through on goal.
The Blues were initially awarded a penalty and Doyle shown a yellow card, but it was upgraded to a red following a VAR review, while the foul was adjudged to have taken place just outside the penalty area.
The home side’s pressure eventually told in the third minute of stoppage time when Palmer’s delightful flick was collected by Chukwuemeka, before the midfielder finished through the legs of Stolarczyk.
Palmer has now both scored and assisted in six different matches for Chelsea in all competitions this season, the most of any Premier League player in 2023/24.
Madueke added gloss to the scoreline five minutes later, beating three defenders before curling a terrific shot into the top-left corner.
Match report: Chelsea 4-2 Leicester
https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/erik-ten-hag-reacts-to-man-utd-v-liverpool-fa-cup-quarter-final#
During his interviews with the official broadcasters, including MUTV and ITV1, here is a selection of what Erik had to say…
WHAT DID WE JUST WITNESS?
“There are games where I was involved like this previously, yes. But, of course, when it’s Manchester United against Liverpool, one of the world’s best football matches, this is happening, I think it’s historical.”
BEST THIS SEASON
“Yes, I thought [the] first 35 minutes was the best I have seen from my team this season. We played so well, in and out of possession. And then the last 10 minutes. And also after half-time, we dropped off a level, and you see Liverpool is a very good team. And then they took over, but then, finally, we changed our style, the system especially, and from that moment on we took the initiative, and we believed in it, and we created chances, and we scored goals.”
NEVER WRITE US OFF
“It was, of course, fantastic and the team showed the resilience and determination, to win this game. And we have had so many setbacks, so I’m really proud of the team. Not only in this game, but the whole season, we have so many setbacks, and they can deal with it. They are very strong, mentally, and it helps, of course, that the fans go behind us. But we energised the fans, they got behind us.”
THIS CAN BE OUR MOMENT
“Every team needs such moments into a season and we never had that moment. This could be that moment where the team can really get the belief and the energy so that they can do amazing things. And I think when you can beat Liverpool in the way we did and you can beat any opponent. So it’s up to us to prove that point. And I said also on Friday, and today we did.”
AMAD: EVERY MOMENT IS LIKE A DREAM
WHAT’S NEXT?
“We are still fighting for places, for positions. At one time in the season you are far below that point and yeah, it can be a turning point. We put the pressure on Aston Villa and on Spurs, with lost points. We’re winning, from January on, but every game for us is a final. And we lost one final, against Fulham, when we can’t allow this, so we play our games our best if we want to achieve our goals. And that is; go into the Champions League and go for silverware.”