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Manchester United eventually found a way to reach a second consecutive FA Cup final, scraping past Coventry City 4-2 on penalties on Sunday.
The Red Devils took a 2-0 goal lead into half-time and Bruno Fernandes extended their lead just before the hour mark.
However, absolute madness proceeded to descend on Wembley as Coventry fought back to 3-3 before full-time.
United fans were distraught when the Sky Blues seemed to have found a late winner before it was ruled out for a narrow offside during extra time.
Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund were the heroes as Erik ten Hag’s men squeezed through the penalty shootout to book their place in the final against cross-city rivals Manchester City.
Speaking to ITV after the game, manager Erik ten Hag claimed, “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.
“We had control for 75 minutes and have to give Coventry a compliment for what they did in the last 15 minutes.
“We have to improve. We talk a lot about this. First you have to put yourself in a winning position but then you have to take it over the line. In these moments we are making mistakes and not keeping our responsibilities.”
The Dutch manager bizarrely defended his side’s mental strength by asserting, “We can’t say this group doesn’t have the right mentality because they showed character today, but in the final part there was a lack of discipline.
“We have to keep the ball, keep making passes, go for goal and then also be strong in defence. It’s about communication and we have to improve on this.
“It was about mentality in that moment. You have a plan and have full confidence so I told them to stick to the plan.”
Commenting on the penalty shootout he stated, “I had confidence we would win the shootout. Normally Casemiro scores, we train them very well.”
“It’s mixed feelings. We can be happy with the achievement, getting to the final, that’s huge.
“Even the big Manchester United only achieved it three times and we achieved it twice in two years. We need to win that final though.”
Elaborating further on his third trip to Wembley to play a final he claimed, “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.
“This season has had many ups but also many downs. Winning the FA Cup doesn’t make it successful, we want to win more.”
The former Ajax manager once again took the opportunity to blame injuries for his side’s performances this season.
“We have been in three finals in two years, which is good, but we had a lot of setbacks this season. We’ve had a lot of injuries and hopefully those players can be back for the final. If we go with a squad who believe then we have a chance to win a trophy.”
The Red Devils certainly rode their luck massively during the second half and extra time but at least they will have an opportunity to win the cup they failed to do so last year.
However, the team will have to improve immensely to stand even a glimmer of a hope of stopping City from retaining their trophy on the 25th of May.
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