Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, United levelled the tie through Jonny Evans’s 37th-minute header, only for Phil Bardsley to net a dramatic equaliser late in extra time with a low shot that squirmed past David de Gea.
United promptly went straight up to the other end and equalised through Javier Hernandez, for 3-3 on aggregate and sending the tie to penalties, but it was to prove a false dawn.
An appalling shoot-out saw only three of the 10 penalty-takers score, but United full-back Rafael da Silva proved the fall guy, with Vito Mannone saving his spot-kick to give Sunderland a 2-1 win.
Second from bottom in the Premier League, Gus Poyet’s side can now look forward to a clash with Manchester City in the final on March 2, in what will be their first major final since 1992.
For David Moyes, meanwhile, the misery continues, with a first final as United manager snatched from his grasp only days after defeat at Chelsea saw his side fall 14 points off the pace.
United drop out of top 3 in ‘rich list’
LONDON: Manchester United’s on-field problems were compounded Thursday when the faltering English champions dropped out of the top three of the world’s top-earning clubs for the first time. Dramatically knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by Premier League strugglers Sunderland in front of a stunned Old Trafford crowd on Wednesday and 14 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, United fell to fourth in the latest Deloitte Football Money League behind leaders Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich based on income during the 2012/13 season. International financial services firm Deloitte have been compiling the table since 1997 and for the first eight years United were the biggest-earning club in the world. However, they’ve since been overtaken by Real and Barcelona and now Bayern.“It is the first time Man United have dropped out of the top three but Bayern had an exceptional year,” said Dan Jones of Deloitte’s sports business.
United promptly went straight up to the other end and equalised through Javier Hernandez, for 3-3 on aggregate and sending the tie to penalties, but it was to prove a false dawn.
An appalling shoot-out saw only three of the 10 penalty-takers score, but United full-back Rafael da Silva proved the fall guy, with Vito Mannone saving his spot-kick to give Sunderland a 2-1 win.
Second from bottom in the Premier League, Gus Poyet’s side can now look forward to a clash with Manchester City in the final on March 2, in what will be their first major final since 1992.
For David Moyes, meanwhile, the misery continues, with a first final as United manager snatched from his grasp only days after defeat at Chelsea saw his side fall 14 points off the pace.
United drop out of top 3 in ‘rich list’
LONDON: Manchester United’s on-field problems were compounded Thursday when the faltering English champions dropped out of the top three of the world’s top-earning clubs for the first time. Dramatically knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by Premier League strugglers Sunderland in front of a stunned Old Trafford crowd on Wednesday and 14 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, United fell to fourth in the latest Deloitte Football Money League behind leaders Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich based on income during the 2012/13 season. International financial services firm Deloitte have been compiling the table since 1997 and for the first eight years United were the biggest-earning club in the world. However, they’ve since been overtaken by Real and Barcelona and now Bayern.“It is the first time Man United have dropped out of the top three but Bayern had an exceptional year,” said Dan Jones of Deloitte’s sports business.