By CNN
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One might expect frenzied celebrations and tears of joy when a team secures its place in the final of one of the most historic competitions in world football, but that simply wasn’t the case for Manchester United on Sunday.
United’s players remained distinctly flat after beating second-tier side Coventry City on penalties in the FA Cup semifinals, after what sport journalist Luke Edwards called “the most humiliating victory I’ve seen for a long time.”
The Premier League giant had started the game well, racing into a 3-0 lead and seemingly wrapping the match up with less than an hour played.
But, as they have done throughout this turbulent season, things started to go very wrong for the 12-time FA Cup winner.
Coventry, which plays in the second division of English football, scored two goals in the space of 10 second-half minutes to pile the pressure in the closing stages at Wembley Stadium. And, as has been the case on multiple occasions for this team, the Reds couldn’t handle the heat.
Just like it did against Chelsea and Liverpool in the league earlier this month, United conceded a late penalty, which Coventry converted to send the tie into extra-time.
Then came yet more humiliation, as Coventry started to play far better than United, coming within a whisker of winning the match before a razor-thin offside decision ruled out a last-minute winner.
United subsequently secured victory via a penalty shootout, but the celebrations were muted after Rasmus Højlund scored the decisive spot-kick.
As the striker pumped his chest in front of the crowd, he perhaps expected the rest of his teammates to join him. But defender Harry Maguire instead turned to the Coventry players and immediately congratulated them on their performance, while many other of United’s stars stayed standing around the center circle.
The focus was more on Coventry and how it came close to what would have been one of the the most memorable FA Cup moments in the tournament’s storied history.
“There’s no way United can come out of that and say it is a good day for them. The only good thing about it was the result. Everything else exposed how soft they are, the lack of leadership and the lack of character,” Edwards told BBC’s Football Daily podcast.
“They took their foot off the gas and took Coventry too lightly – and nearly paid the ultimate price.
“They were on the ropes and a toenail VAR decision has spared them. They were 20 seconds from going out.”
Manchester United will go on to play Manchester City in the final, in a bid to win its first trophy of the season, but Sunday’s performance piled yet more pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.
‘You don’t know what you’re going to get’
The lack of leadership on display was what worried former United captain Roy Keane the most.
“We are having the same conversation every week about Manchester United,” pundit Keane told broadcaster ITV.
“You don’t know what you’re going to get. They’re inconsistent. They always play in moments … they give teams chances.
“I don’t see character in this group of players, I really don’t. I’m getting to the stage when I’m almost disliking them … ”
Ten Hag’s future at the club has come under scrutiny since British petrochemical billionaire Jim Ratcliffe purchased a 25% stake in the club this year, and perfomances like the most recent one will raise more concerns about the direction of the club under his control.
United currently sits seventh in the Premier League table after a torrid run of results.
The Dutchman, though, was keen to focus on the positives after the match, highlighting the fact that the team has now reached two FA Cup finals in his two seasons in charge.
“It was an incredible game, a strange game too. We had total control for so long and then gave it away in the last part of the game. We did show resilience to win the penalty shootout,” Ten Hag told reporters.
“It’s mixed feelings. We can be happy with the achievement, getting to the final, that’s huge.
“I want to win it. I’m sure we have a good chance to win this final, although we play the best team in the world. We do have a chance though. We showed that this season.”
United superfan cycles from Mongolia
While many of United’s fans criticized their club on social media, one supporter will be very thankful for the win.
Ochirvaani Batbold is a 26-year-old superfan from Mongolia and watched the match at Wembley Stadium after traveling nearly 7,000 kilometres – by bicycle.
“For me, United is about dramatic comebacks, The Theatre of Dreams, great players, Sir Alex Ferguson, a great story and a never-give-up mentality,” Batbold told journalist Andy Mitten on Sunday, adding that his own dreams of becoming a top-flight footballer were ended by injuries.
“The decision to travel by bike was only made two weeks before the trip. I knew I was going to make a trip and long considered running, but for me to do that I needed a team, a lot of money and a car. So I changed my plans and decided to cycle.”
While the performance from United would have given many fans nightmares on Sunday, it at least provided Batbold with a memorable match to reward his epic odyssey.
