Man United enter FA Cup semi-finals

Manchester: It was all set up for a famous FA Cup upset as Fulham led treble-chasing Manchester United at Old Trafford.

But in the space of seven chaotic second-half minutes, the visitors were reduced to nine players, had their manager sent off and conceded twice. It was a meltdown of epic proportions and United capitalized on it in ruthless fashion to advance to the semi-finals with a 3-1 win that keeps its three-pronged trophy pursuit on track. There is also the prospect of a mouthwatering FA Cup final against Manchester City after the rivals were kept apart in the draw for the last four. Thoughts of an all-Manchester showdown at Wembley on June 3, however, looked in serious doubt after Aleksandar Mitrovic fired Fulham ahead in the 50th minute of the quarterfinal match. That was before the game was turned upside down as Fulham’s players and manager Marco Silva lost control.

Emotions boiled over after Willian blocked Jadon Sancho’s goal-bound shot in the 70th and VAR instructed referee Chris Kavanagh to review the incident on the touchline monitor. Before the official could even make a decision, he had shown a red card to Silva for remonstrating furiously in the dugout. Replays showed Willian had clearly used his hand and was sent off as a result, resulting in outrage from Mitrovic, who angrily approached Kavanagh and was also shown red. All three dismissals came over a period of 40 seconds. All that was left was for Bruno Fernandes to dispatch his penalty and even the score in the 75th.

Two minutes later Marcel Sabitzer put United in front and nine-man Fulham was on its way out.