(Football news) Ruben Amorim’s men controversially progressed past Leicester City 2-1 in the fourth round, while the Cottagers narrowly bested former winners Wigan Athletic by the same scoreline.
The ground where the ‘Fergie time’ phenomenon was coined became the site of ‘offside time’ as Ruud van Nistelrooy put it, as the erstwhile Manchester United striker and manager was left to bemoan the absence of technology in Leicester’s unjust FA Cup exit at Old Trafford.
A Bobby Decordova-Reid opener and Joshua Zirkzee reply had the fourth-round battle on February 7 heading towards extra time, only for former Foxes center-back Harry Maguire to peel away from his marker and head home a bedlam-inducing winner from an offside position.
No VAR meant no overturning the linesman’s incorrect original call, but there was nothing controversial about Maguire’s latest act of heading heroism, as the £80m man capped off a gritty Red Devils fightback in a 3-2 Premier League success over Ipswich Town in midweek.
However, Amorim’s out-of-sorts men had taken just one point from their previous three top-flight games prior to that nervy triumph—a dismal streak that has them 14th in the standings—and retaining their FA Cup crown is surely their most realistic route back to European competition.
Of course, the hosts could go all the way in the Europa League to dine at the continent’s top table again, but history favors them more in this competition; Manchester United have won each of their last 14 FA Cup fifth-round ties since being dumped out at this point by Liverpool in 2005-06.
The Merseyside giants went on to hoist the trophy aloft that year, a positive omen for Fulham if they can repeat the Reds’ trick against the Red Devils as they go in search of their first-ever FA Cup triumph; reaching the 1975 final remains their best result in the tournament.
However, Marco Silva’s men have every right to be considered dark horses for the 2024-25 title and have already seen off Watford and 2012-13 winners Wigan to earn a date with the holders, as Rodrigo Muniz was at the double against the Latics last time out.
Similar to Maguire – who was Manchester United’s hero in their last FA Cup and Premier League games – Muniz also had the final say in midweek, as his cheeky chip propelled the Cottagers to a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, their fourth win from five in all tournaments.
Firmly involved in the race for Europe in the top half of the Premier League standings, Silva’s side also arrive at the Theatre of Dreams with a knack for success on the road, winning each of their last four matches away from home and scoring twice in each of their last seven.
In fact, the last team to prevent Fulham from finding the back of the net on rival turf was Manchester United themselves in the opening weekend of the 2024-25 Premier League season, since when they also edged out Silva’s side 1-0 at Craven Cottage and memorably beat the Cottagers in a chaotic 2022-23 FA Cup quarter-final following an Aleksandar Mitrovic meltdown.
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