Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno on Sunday saved two penalties as his side beat FA Cup holders Manchester United 4-3 in a shoot-out to secure their spot in the quarter-finals after a dramatic fifth-round tie at Old Trafford ended 1-1 after extra-time.
The match went to penalties after United’s Bruno Fernandes grabbed a second-half leveler following Calvin Bassey’s opener for Fulham in stoppage-time at the end of the first half.
After a goalless extra-time, Leno saved Victor Lindelof’s penalty, leaving United’s Joshua Zirkzee needing to bury his to keep their hopes alive. Yet he fired his effort straight at Leno, sparking wild Fulham celebrations.
Photo: Reuters
Raul Jimenez, Sander Berge, Willian and Antonee Robinson converted their penalties for Fulham, who face Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals.
Fulham caught United’s defense flat-footed from Andreas Pereira’s corner to strike first blood seconds before halftime, with Rodrigo Muniz nodding on for Bassey to head home in his first FA Cup appearance.
Fernandes equalized in the 71st minute when Diogo Dalot cut the ball back and United’s skipper unleashed a left-footed shot from just inside the penalty area that sailed past two Fulham defenders and goalkeeper Leno on its way into the far corner to send the game into extra-time.
“Unbelievable,” a smiling Leno told the BBC. “I think we deserved to win after 90 minutes. Of course, penalties, it is sometimes a lottery and luckily we won. The goalie coach told me information, but my feeling is more important. I went the wrong way three times, but credit to our penalty takers — it is not easy. Brilliant job from all of us.”
Thirteen-time FA Cup winners United defeated Manchester City last season and lost to City in the 2022-2023 final, but Ruben Amorim’s men have struggled mightily this season, languishing 14th in the English Premier League, five places below Fulham.
“I think we have the best chances in the game,” Amorim said. “In the end, the penalties can go both ways and today wasn’t our way.”
“The goal is to win the Premier League,” he added. “I know that we are losing games, but the goal is to win the Premier League again. I don’t know how long it will take. We have a goal and we continue forward no matter what.”
Both sides squandered chances at winning goals in the breathless affair at Old Trafford. United goalkeeper Andre Onana dived to push away a shot from Emile Smith Rowe late in normal time.
United then had several terrific chances to seal the victory seconds before the whistle sounded. Leno came out to save a point-blank shot from Alejandro Garnacho and then 17-year-old Chido Obi first stabbed the ball just wide of the net and then forced Leno to make a diving save.
Fulham head coach Marco Silva said his team deserved to win in normal time.
“I think we were the best team on the pitch. Our team was on the ball, dominating the ball,” he said. “We deserve to be in the next stage.”
Fulham reached their only FA Cup final in 1974-01975 when they were beaten 2-0 by West Ham United. Leno said he would like to see his team get back to Wembley for the final.
“Two years ago we lost here in the quarter-final [to Manchester United] and we’re in the quarter-final again,” he said. “We want to go to Wembley, 100 percent.”
Earlier on Sunday, Danny Welbeck scored the winner in extra-time as 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion edged 10-man Newcastle United 2-1 at St James’ Park to advanced to the quarter-finals.
Additional reporting by staff writer
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
RSS