By Thomas Durning
Lindelof sends Man Utd to final.
Manchester United are through to the FA Cup final after defeating Brighton on penalties after a tightly contested 120 minutes of football. Defender Victor Lindelof was the man that scored the winning penalty for the Reds who will now go on to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final which is the first time both these teams will meet in the final of this competition.
Brighton made two changes to the side that defeated Chelsea last time out with Joel Veltman and Evan Ferguson coming out of the team and they were replaced by Juan Enciso and Danny Welbeck.
Manchester United made three changes to the side that were defeated by Sevilla in the Europa League last time out with Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, and Marcel Sabitzer coming out of the team and they were replaced by Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, and Bruno Fernandes.
Brighton made a good start to this semi-final, and they had there first chance in the 7th minute after Mitoma won the Seagulls a free kick just outside the box. The resulting free kick was hit by midfielder Mac Allister who curled it towards goal, but De Gea managed to turn it past the post after almost nearly losing the ball in the sun.
Manchester Utd was struggling to get up the pitch in the early stages of the match due to Brighton pressing high up the pitch and this high pressing gave Brighton another chance in the 13th minute after they won the ball back which resulted in Gross and March combining well to release Enciso who took a touch, but his strike went wide of the post.
Despite there early struggles, the Reds did have there first chance of the match in the 15th minute after good work from Eriksen who managed to pass the ball to Fernandes and from the edge of the box, midfielder Fernandes turned and shot at Brighton’s goal, but his shot was well saved by Sanchez.
It was a well fought start to the game and for a period of time, there was injuries from both teams which meant that the pattern of the game was disrupted for a few minutes at least.
In the 32nd minute, Brighton had another chance after Mitoma managed to break at the United defence and after being brilliantly tackled by Wan-Bissaka, the loose ball fell to Enciso who from the edge of the box hit a first time shot but the ball just went wide of the post.
Despite Brighton making the better start to the match, it was Manchester United who were the better side at the end of the 1st half and in the 44th minute they were inches from going a goal ahead after Fernandes collected Casemiro’s pass, the Portuguese midfielder fired a low shot at goal, but his shot went inches wide of the left post.
A minute later the Reds had another chance when Rashford cut the ball back from the right-hand side which was met by Eriksen, but he did not strike the ball properly and Sanchez was able to make the save with his foot and managed to clear the ball away.
This was to be the last action of the 1st half and both sides would go into half time thinking they should have at least scored as they both created many good opportunities.
The 2nd half got underway and for the first few minutes of the half, it was very even with both sides trying to break each other down in the hope they could break the deadlock.
In the 56th minute, Brighton had a brilliant chance to take the lead after pressure from the Seagull’s in Man Utd’s box led to Enciso picking the ball up and having a strike, but his effort was brilliantly saved by De Gea.
Brighton was starting to pick up the pace and two minutes later they missed a glorious chance after Gross’s cross to the back post was met by Welbeck, but the striker’s header went over the bar.
In the 66th minute, Man Utd had a free kick in a very dangerous position which was hit by Fernandes, but his strike hit the wall and the rebound resulted in the ball going way over the bar.
Both sides started to make changes towards the end of the 2nd half in the hope that they could break the deadlock but despite both sides trying to attack, neither side could score, and the referee blew the whistle, and the match went to extra time.
Extra time got underway and once again both sides were really going for it, but the final ball was lacking which resulted in both sides getting frustrated at the chances they could have potentially taken.
In the 105th minute, Brighton keeper Sanchez had to make a brilliant save after Rashford collected the ball from the edge of the box and had a strike which was deflected but Sanchez dived fully stretched to his left and tipped it wide of the target.
This was the last action of the 1st half of extra time and once again neither side could break the deadlock.
The 2nd half of extra time got underway and throughout the half, both sides were still showing brilliant energy, but the final ball was still lacking.
In the 118th minute, Casemiro drove though the Brighton midfield and had a strike, but his show was comfortably saved by Sanchez, and this was to be the last action of extra time and the match went to penalties.
The penalty shootout got underway, and the quality of strikes was impressive as neither goalkeeper managed to get anywhere near the majority of kicks.
However, in sudden death Solly March stepped up for Brighton and fired his kick way over the bar which meant that Manchester United had the chance to win it and Lindelof stepped up and brilliantly scored his penalty to send Manchester United to the final.
Brighton: Sanchez, Gross, Webster, Dunk, Estupinan, Caicedo, Mac Allister, March, Enciso (Veltman 67’) Mitoma, Welbeck (Undav 75’)
Subs not used: Steele, Offiah, Buonanotte, Gilmour, Ayari, van Hecke, Colwill
Manchester United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka (Malacia 101’) Lindelof, Shaw, Dalot, Casemiro, Eriksen (Fred 62’) Antony (Sabitzer 90’) Fernandes (Weghorst 101’) Rashford, Martial (Sancho 85’)
Subs not used: Pellistri, Butland, Williams, Elanga
Referee: Craig Pawson
Reporter: Thomas Durning
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