Eric ten Hag admitted Manchester United survived an epic comeback from Coventry 3-0 down to seal victory on penalties and set up a replay of last year’s FA Cup final against Manchester City , they “got away with it”.
United looked to be cruising to victory just an hour before half-time when Bruno Fernandes struck for Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire. But Ten Hag opted to remove the brilliant Kobe Manu from midfield and watched in horror as Coventry hit back through Ellis Sims and Callum O’Hare before Haji Wright added A penalty kick in stoppage time sent the game into overtime.
Both sides hit the woodwork before Coventry substitute Victor Torp had what he thought was a late winner ruled out by VAR after Wright was judged to have been slightly offside in the build-up. But missed penalties from O’Hare and Coventry captain Ben Schiff ultimately handed United victory after Casemiro missed the first penalty in the shootout.
Having dominated the game until the 70th minute, Ten Hag admitted his side were lucky to be able to pull through with the help of United bosses Joel Glazer and Sir Jim Ratcliffe. may receive more and more attention.
“We can’t say this team doesn’t have the right mentality because they showed character today but lacked discipline in the final stages,” the United boss said. “It’s about communication and we have to improve on that.”
Asked why his team has struggled to stay at the top this season, Ten Hag added: “We can play at a very high level but in the same game we can drop to a very low level. That’s It’s unexplainable, but it’s about taking responsibility. I have to teach my players that we have to do better. There were times when we let the results slip away and today we saw those mistakes. But it’s not embarrassing – reaching another FA Cup final is a huge achievement and one we will draw energy from.
United goalkeeper Andre Onana saved O’Hare’s weak penalty in the shootout but was frustrated that his team had “lost control of the game”. “It’s a mixed feeling – we were in control but after so many mistakes we conceded three goals,” he said.
Coventry manager Mark Robins was proud of the Championship side’s performance against his old club but admitted it was a disappointing experience after losing on penalties to Luton Town in last year’s play-off final. Unbearable failure.
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“If he had cut off his toenails, he wouldn’t have gone into the penalty shootout,” he said of Wright’s disallowed goal for Top. “You rarely get the chance to get to the FA Cup final but we were really close. We started the game 3-0 down and ended up putting a lot of pressure on United. I’m really proud of everyone – – Our players and supporters have been fantastic throughout the FA Cup and we have just said that they are at the top of the football club’s history and people will be talking about this game for a long time. sad.
Manchester United were defeated 2-1 by Manchester City in last year’s final as Guardiola’s side went on to win the treble. But Ten Hag is hoping to add to last season’s Carabao Cup triumph in his second season at Old Trafford and believes they can do better this time around.
“I’m sure we have a good chance, even though we play against the best teams in the world,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries and hopefully these players can come back for the final. If we go with a team that believes in it then we have a chance of winning trophies.
