Knackered but effective

United turn a mediocre day into a memorable one, with a little help from some am-dram

FIVE ASIDES FA Cup, quarter-final: United 3, Fulham 1

Another FA Cup match, another 3-1 win: United’s fourth out of four this season. If we thought the West Ham game was packed with late drama, this one put it in the shade. Before United’s three goals came three minutes of madness and three red cards. It was rather like the review system in cricket: three reds spelt doom. United, luckily, were the bowling side. They might have saved the day anyway with the Stretford End in front of them, but their performance had been mediocre, their bench was depleted, their captain was driving the fans mad with his dawdling, their superstars were knackered, and extra time would surely have been a bridge too far. This was their 25th game since the season resumed after the World Cup, not quite three months ago. As Erik ten Hag said, they’ve shown great spirit.

“I don’t think it’s been a draining season yet,” Roy Keane declared at half-time, idiotically. Try telling that to Bruno Fernandes, the hardest-working man in showbusiness. He’s played more minutes this season than any other player from the big five leagues in Europe, including the goalies. You could hardly blame him for being at his wasteful worst today. He kept spraying ambitious passes as if (a) there was no tomorrow and (b) he had failed to spot that Casemiro and Rapha Varane were not there to clear up behind him. But then, when United were busy dealing with Fulham’s umpteenth corner, Fernandes found that one great ball he is always looking for – instinctive, progressive and typically creative, eluding Willian and sending Antony away down the right. It’s now time to say something this site may never have said before: Antony played well. His crisp square pass found Jadon Sancho, who went round the houses but did enough to draw a handball from Willian on the line. Then, after a long delay for Fulham’s amateur dramatics, Fernandes handled the pressure, took the penalty and scored the equaliser. In the 96th minute he was still out there, playing in holding midfield, which may well be his fifth-best position. It didn’t stop him racing back to his natural habitat as the No 10 and sealing the deal with a scorching shot.

Marcel Sabitzer scored the winner, not with a howitzer, sadly, but a neat little flick. He hadn’t been the best midfielder on the pitch: he and Scott McTominay – McSab! – struggled to match the elegant Andreas Pereira, who used to play for United, and the tireless Joao Palhinha, who may yet do so if they can afford a deputy for Casemiro. But Sabitzer was still pretty good, full of running and intelligence. And now he’s going back to Wembley, where he was quietly efficient as a sub against Newcastle. His interview with ITV after today’s game was a lot of fun: either his sense of humour is extremely dry, or he doesn’t have one.

Marcus Rashford, as usual, stood out among the outfield starters, but this time it wasn’t because of his shooting. For the first hour Rashford played more like a traditional winger, going tit-for-tat with Fulham by sending in classy crosses. Two of them were posted to Mr W Weghorst, who couldn’t make head or tail of them. While he is clearly a great guy, good at pressing and laying the ball off, Wout Weghorst’s finishing is hopeless, unless he happens to be facing Argentina and sitting in the last-chance saloon. On Transfermarkt he is now United’s 23rd most valuable player, with a market value of £12m. He has started 18 games in nine weeks and scored only two goals, both rebounds. Ten Hag must be seriously unimpressed with the Academy strikers, Charlie McNeill (seven minutes for the seniors this season) and Joe Hugill (none at all). Still, at least the first substitution today was a bold one, sacrificing the only defensive midfielder (McTominay) for a fifth forward (Antony). It was a day when fortune favoured the brave. United’s cup record for the season now stands at played 20, won 18, drawn 1, lost 1. And so they meet Brighton at Wembley on 23 April, to see who will return there six weeks later and have the privilege of conceding a hat-trick to Erling Haaland.

Tim de Lisle writes about sport for The Guardian and music for The Mail on Sunday. If you’re on Twitter, do follow him and United Writing. And if you received this piece by email, please feel free to forward it to any fellow supporters.