title defenders Manchester United have already been knocked out in the last 16 of the FA Cup. The Red Devils fell behind against Fulham, but then stepped up and saved themselves by taking penalties. In this, however, Bernd Leno excelled.
United manager Ruben Amorim left Alejandro Garnacho and Patrick Dorgu on the bench after the 3-2 league win over Ipswich, with Noussair Mazraoui and Christian Eriksen in the starting lineup. Fulham, meanwhile, made three changes from their 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers (Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi came in for Jorge Cuenca, Issa Diop and Ryan Sessengon), as well as switching their system from 3-4-2-1 to 4-2-3-1.
The game started promisingly, with both teams looking to create chances and push forward. However, this turned out to be a flash in the pan, as the level dropped as the game progressed. Mistakes became more frequent and chances were rare. Nevertheless, a goal was scored before half-time – and it was from a stationary ball: Pereira’s corner from the right was headed on by Rodrigo Muniz to the second post, where Bassey was ready to head the ball into the net from five meters out to make it 1-0. Fulham took the lead (45.+1).
Bruno Fernandes forces the penalty shootout
After the break, Manchester picked up the pace but found it difficult against a thoroughly committed Fulham that was present in the duels. United had more shots on the night (20-12) and were rewarded for their efforts when they equalized on 71 minutes: after some good pressing, Diogo Dalot broke free on the left and found Bruno Fernandes in the box with a low cross. The Portuguese player showed his appreciation by coolly slotting the ball into the net from 15 meters out with his left foot to make it 1-1.
The game remained a nail-biter after that, but despite 30 minutes of added time, no further goals were scored. The decision was therefore left to the penalty shootout. In this, Bernd Leno emerged as the hero of the evening: the German goalkeeper was first on the scene to save Victor Lindelöf’s attempt, which was too central, and then he also saved Joshua Zirkzee’s penalty kick from the bottom right corner, leading the Cottagers into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
