Manchester United secured their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win over Fulham at Old Trafford.
Fulham had hopes of a first appearance in the last-four since 2002, but their dreams were shattered as they spectacularly fell apart in the second half.
Aleksandar Mitrovic had put the visitors ahead five minutes after the break, but the tie descended into chaos 18 minutes from time when Chris Kavanagh awarded United a penalty.
Willian and Mitrovic were both sent off as a result of the decision, and United capitalised on their numerical advantage to complete a turnaround. Bruno Fernandes netted twice, with Marcel Sabitzer also on target for the hosts.
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Fulham started the game brightly and had chances to take the lead in the first half. David de Gea tipped Issa Diop’s looping header over the bar, while Tim Ream’s dangerous cross narrowly evaded his teammates in the box.
United had chances of their own, with Wout Weghorst and Sabitzer both shooting straight at Bernd Leno. Ream made a vital block to deny Scott McTominay in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
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Fulham continued their positive start to the second half, with Antonee Robinson and Willian calling De Gea into action. The visitors took the lead when Diop helped on Andreas Pereira’s corner for Mitrovic to score. However, the game turned on its head when Kavanagh awarded United a penalty and Willian was sent off for handling Jadon Sancho’s shot on the line. Mitrovic was also sent off for getting too physical with the official.
Fernandes rolled home the resulting penalty, and just two minutes later, Sabitzer turned in Luke Shaw’s cross to give United the lead. Fernandes then secured the win with a strike past Leno in stoppage time.
The victory was United’s 31st appearance in the FA Cup semi-finals, setting a new record. Fulham, meanwhile, were left to rue what might have been as their hopes of a first semi-final in 19 years were dashed. United will now await the winner of the tie between Manchester City and Chelsea in the other semi-final.
