(Football news) Thanks to incredible quarterfinal wins, both of the final four participants advanced: the Red Devils ended Liverpool’s quadruple aspirations in extra time, while the second-tier team defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers.
While the occasion was slightly spoiled by Mark Robins’ inexcusable celebration in the face of a Molineux ball boy, Coventry’s traveling supporters had every right to erupt into unbridled chaos on March 16, the day Ellis Simms and Haji Wright punched the Sky Blues’ ticket to Wembley.
Wright’s incredible winner with no less than 100 minutes on the clock followed Simms’ equalizing goal in the seventh minute of added time, making the former’s initial goal appear insignificant when Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hugo Bueno found the net in the last ten minutes.
By shattering Wolves hearts in the most dramatic circumstances, the Championship outfit will now compete in just their second FA Cup semi-final – their only previous last-four encounter in 1986-87 saw them sink Leeds United before triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
Coventry do not return to Wembley with the wind in their sails, though, having suffered three defeats from their last four games in the Championship – including each of their last two to Southampton (2-1) and relegation-threatened Birmingham City (3-0) – the latter result caused particular alarm.
Now rank outsiders for a playoff place – sitting eighth in the second-tier standings and eight points behind sixth-placed Norwich City, albeit with a game in hand – FA Cup glory would be a huge saving grace for Robins and co, but even if they manage to slay the Red Devils, either Manchester City or Chelsea will stand in their way of supremacy.
The clock had also ticked into the three figures by the time that Manchester United’s epic quarter-final with Liverpool was settled, as when John Brooks’s whistle sounded to signal the end of the 90, nothing could separate the two titans of the English game at two goals apiece.
Further strikes from Harvey Elliott and Marcus Rashford saw penalties loom, but with mere minutes remaining before the dreaded 12-yard shootout, the seldom-seen Amad Diallo – then sent off for taking off his shirt while already on a booking – conjured up the magical moment to send the Red Devils to Wembley yet again.
As the watchful eye of Sir Jim Ratcliffe remains fixed on Erik ten Hag, the Dutchman will earn serious credit in the bank by leading Manchester United – the 2022-23 EFL Cup winners – to a second domestic honour in as many seasons, but the seven-goal spectacular of Liverpool remains the Red Devils’ most recent triumph.
In fact, Ten Hag’s team has since lost their last four Premier League games, drawing with Brentford, Bournemouth, and Liverpool before suffering a painful 4-3 defeat to Chelsea. However, as will undoubtedly be said many times this weekend, form is meaningless at Wembley.
If Manchester United, the 12-time champions of the competition, defeats Coventry, they will have reached 22 finals overall, a record they would not soon forget. However, the Sky Blues have already shocked the Red Devils in a knockout match; in the EFL Cup, Coventry stunned Old Trafford by two goals to nil in their most recent meeting.
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