FA Cup
Rangnick baffled by Boro’s handball goal as Man U exit FA Cup on penalties
Manchester United suffered a shock FA Cup fourth-round exit as Championship club Middlesbrough won 8-7 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Friday (Feb 4).
Ralf Rangnick’s side crashed out after Anthony Elanga blazed his spot-kick over the bar in a nerve-jangling shoot-out.
Swedish teenager Elanga was the only player from either team to miss in the shoot-out, leaving the forward holding his head in disbelief as Middlesbrough celebrated their stunning victory.
Jadon Sancho had put United ahead in the first half, but Matt Crooks grabbed a controversial equaliser after the interval to set the stage for Middlesbrough’s memorable upset.
In the 64th minute, Duncan Watmore had controlled a long pass with his hand as the ball bounced off his body, before lofting a pass over Dean Henderson for the sliding Crooks to net at the far post.
Convinced the goal should be disallowed, United surrounded referee Anthony Taylor to protest, but VAR allowed it to stand as the offence was deemed to be accidental under a new rule introduced last year.
While Rangnick lamented his side’s profligacy, he was understandably miffed by Boro’s equaliser.
“How can it be accidental if he controls the ball up in the air with his hand? It was clear it should not stand but in the end, I was really surprised it stood,” he said.
“We conceded a goal which I don’t understand why it stood.
“He controlled it with his hand. In the moment when they scored, it was clear that VAR would not allow this goal to stand.”
The handball rule was tweaked for this season and now states “if an attacking player’s accidental handball immediately precedes another player scoring, the goal will now be awarded”.
Even Boro boss Wilder was surprised the goal had been allowed to stand after a VAR check.
“We rode our luck and took our chances. The decisions that are made through VAR have changed since I left the Premier League – I thought straight away it was handball,” he said.
“I thought it would be chalked out and delighted it wasn’t.”
Cristiano Ronaldo had missed a first half spot-kick for United, who have now lost seven of their last eight penalty shoot-outs, including last season’s Europa League final against Villarreal.
United are without a major trophy in five years and their hopes of ending that drought are dwindling given their Premier League struggles and a tricky Champions League last 16 tie against Atletico Madrid.
The FA Cup embarrassment is the latest hammer blow for United at the end of a painful week that saw their England forward Mason Greenwood arrested over the alleged rape and assault of a young woman.
While still in custody, the 20-year-old was further arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of sexual assault and threats to kill.
England international Greenwood, who was released on bail on Wednesday, has been suspended from all football activities at United since his arrest.
-AFP/Reuters
Manchester City F.C. completed a domestic cup double on Saturday after a late strike from Antoine Semenyo secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chelsea F.C. in the FA Cup Final.
The decisive moment arrived in the 72nd minute when the Ghana international produced a clever finish from close range, turning sharply before back-heeling the ball beyond Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez after an inviting cross from Erling Haaland.
Semenyo’s goal transformed what had been a tense and cautious contest into an entertaining finale as both sides pushed aggressively in search of goals during the closing stages.
City nearly doubled their advantage when Rayan Cherki forced an excellent save from Sánchez, while Matheus Nunes struck the post as Pep Guardiola’s side intensified the pressure.
Chelsea also searched desperately for an equaliser but were unable to break through City’s disciplined defence.
The triumph handed Manchester City their eighth FA Cup title and completed an impressive domestic cup double following their League Cup success earlier in March.
For Semenyo, the winning goal marked one of the biggest moments of his career, with the forward delivering when it mattered most on English football’s grandest domestic stage.
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Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to cruise into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly, their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
In the other quarter-finals, Chelsea take on Port Vale and Southampton host Arsenal later on Saturday, with Leeds United travelling to West Ham United on Sunday.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley, and Haaland is relishing a return to the stadium.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then we after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” he told broadcaster TNT.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
-Reuters
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Arsenal will be without injured England attacker Noni Madueke when they face Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, but Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber may return from injury, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Madueke was among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty last month over injuries and fitness management, as the club eye their first Premier League title since 2004.
“When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team. Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”
Madueke picked up a knee injury during England’s friendly with Uruguay, missing the game against Japan. But Arteta said his condition was not as bad as a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks.
Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Timber, Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were unavailable for their countries.
Arteta did not disclose how many of them will be available for Saturday’s game, as Arsenal look to shake off last month’s League Cup final loss to Manchester City with a return to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We’re in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition,” he said. ” We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
-Reuters
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