(Football news) Manchester United narrowly defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 to get to the round of eight, the Reds’ young players were the talk of the town as they defeated Southampton 3-0 in the fifth round.
It’s anyone’s guess whether the under-fire Ten Hag will remain in charge at the end of the season—rumors have it that Sir Jim Ratcliffe does not see the Dutchman as a long-term solution—but the former Ajax manager still has a chance to lead the Red Devils to two major championships in as many seasons.
On the back of last season’s EFL Cup stardom, the 20-time English champions were too hot for Wigan Athletic and Newport County to handle in the earlier rounds of the FA Cup, and they also navigated a Premier League-sized test in the shape of Nottingham Forest on February 28.
Following 88 scoreless minutes at the City Ground, the deftest of Casemiro touches from a Bruno Fernandes free kick propelled the Red Devils into the quarter-finals of the cup, where they have alternated between victories and defeats in their last eight appearances, losing one quarter-final match then winning the next since 2014-15.
Having made it all the way to Wembley last year, superstition is therefore not on the side of the 2022-23 runners-up, but recent form is more so, as they secured a seventh win from their last nine matches against Everton last weekend, where Fernandes and Marcus Rashford penalties did the damage.
The outcome could have been different had the Toffees managed to convert at least one of their plethora of chances, but profligacy has not been an issue for the Red Devils, who are now on a 13-match scoring streak across all competitions stretching back to Boxing Day.
When it comes to teams wearing red and having fiery attacking instincts, Liverpool did not hold back against Sparta Prague in their Europa League last-16 second leg on Thursday night. Scoring an incredible four goals in only 14 minutes, they completely destroyed the Czech champions.
Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Bobby Clark, and the historic Mohamed Salah all helped their team get out to a barnstorming start, helped by some defensive blunders from their opponents. Dominik Szoboszlai’s deflected effort and Gakpo’s second goal sealed a 6-1 victory on the evening and an 11-2 victory overall.
