To the Victor the spoils
Lindelof made the difference on a day that was all tension and no drama
FIVE ASIDES FA Cup, semi-final: Brighton 0, United 0
Can a football match be stuffed with tension yet devoid of drama? We now know the answer to that. United and Brighton were so well matched that they should have announced their engagement. For three hours they were inseparable. It was 0-0 in open play, 15-all on shots, 6-5 to United on shots on target, and 6-6 over the first 12 penalties (a big hand for Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, returning to the scene of the anti-climax and both holding their nerve). The only thing that could come between the sides, apart from 239 passes (670-431), was the seventh pair of pens. By United’s recent standards this was an early finish: two years ago, in a Europa League final, they converted all ten of their outfielders’ pens while allowing Villareal to convert 11. David de Gea stops being a shot-stopper in a shoot-out, but this time it didn’t matter. He made his usual number of saves – sweet FA – and walked off a winner, possibly because Wout Weghorst put the ball to his lips before handing it to the unfortunate Solly March. It was the kiss of sudden death.
Victor’s going to Wembley, his knees have not gone trembly. The man-of-the-match award went to the masterly Moises Caicedo, but if the BBC had just waited till the game had been decided, they might have plumped for Victor Lindelof. His penalty, struck high like a striker’s, was the difference between the sides, and his defending had been a big reason why United were still in it at that late stage. He was rapid, reliable, composed and creative. Deep into extra time, he chipped United’s best pass of the game through to Rashford, who was promptly fouled and penalised for it.
Two trips to Wembley this season, no goals conceded. None scored either, outside the seven minute-spell that sealed the League Cup, but that was enough, just like Lindelof’s penalty. United defended from the front: the two most prolific tacklers in the match, behind Casemiro (seven), were Rashford and Bruno Fernandes (four each). Fernandes brought fight, even if he still insists on being combative with the ref. United’s makeshift defence, with a left-back at centre-back and a right-back at left-back, showed pride and character. It was as if they had a point to prove after conceding five comedy goals against Sevilla – or as if they had got all their howlers out of their system.
On paper the defence was the weakest link, but it turned out to be United’s strong point. Diogo Dalot, subbed off at half-time on his previous visit to Wembley, did OK bar his customary cross into Row Z, and did more than OK with his penalty. Luke Shaw smoothly resumed his Lisandro Martinez impression. Lindelof was lordly, à la Varane, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the only first-choice defender playing in his normal position, carried on where he had left off against Alain Saint-Maximin in the League Cup final. Kaoru Mitoma is surely the best £2.5m even Brighton have ever spent: he has such an educated right foot that he’s written a dissertation on dribbling. It was just his bad luck to come up against the guy who wrote the book on tackling.
As stalemates go, this wasn’t stale at all. Brighton, always easy on the eye, did everything well except apply the finishing touch. They were so good at playing out from the back that you hoped De Gea was taking notes – for another time, as on this occasion he went back to the hoof. The last few Brighton players who never get chatted up by the big clubs all looked good on the dancefloor. Dunk, March, Gross: as somebody once said, they sound like the nicknames on the T-shirts of a stag party in Prague – and United coped with them like a long-suffering restaurateur. They even managed to have a good weekend in the league, improving their chances of the top four as Villa dropped points and Spurs were torn apart on Tyneside. United go to the Tottenham Stadium this Thursday, to face a club who have just sacked Christian Stellini – the stopgap who made Ralf Rangnick look like a roaring success. Spurs are such a shambles that they may well win.
Tim de Lisle is the editor of United Writing and a sportswriter for The Guardian. If you’re on Twitter, do follow him and United Writing. If you received this piece by email, please feel free to forward it to the nearest Red.