Semi-final draw
Coventry City v Manchester United
Manchester City v Chelsea
Ties to be played at Wembley on the weekend of 20-21 April
Match report
The last word goes to Phil Keegan. “Paul Madeley,” he says, “would have enjoyed that game.”
The MBM will be back on Tuesday to bring you Ajax v Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League. Thanks for your company, correspondence and views on the roof of the net. It’s been a blast, a rollicking rollercoaster of an FA Cup tie. I’ve got to go off and find a talking point about this game. There may be one or two to choose from.
And here is Jürgen Klopp, whose victory march was halted by Amad’s big moment. “United had a better start, we had not a good start,” he says. "We adapted really well to what they did and played a top game. After 2-1 up, we had so many chances where we had to kill the game off. The rest is already history. Normal time, nearly there. Extra time, nearly there, and then we lose the game. That’s all right, I cannot ask the boys for more. We’ve had the much more intense season, everybody knows that – just count the games.
“Today was hard, because of United’s quality and [the way] they took a lot of risks. I absolutely respect that. Congratulations to United for going to the semi-final, and we have a game less, or two games less, and we have to use that.”
Next it’s Erik ten Hag’s turn. He’s so hoarse he sounds like Sean Dyche with a Dutch accent. “Very good spirit, very good mentality,” he says. “First 35 minutes for me was the best minutes of the season. But then gaps between the lines and you can’t allow this against Liverpool, one of the best teams in Europe. So we had to change things… We have a team for the future that is very good – Dallo, Garnacho. All the others I like too, Bruno, Rashford. Despite all the injuries – yesterday Jonny Evans dropped out in the last minute of training.”
Now Amad is giving an interview. He has his shirt on again – not a red one, possibly a training top. Is that the best goal of his life? “I think so, important moment, against Liverpool. This is football, you have to believe every moment.” The winning move: “I want to give the ball back to Garnacho, but I can’t, so I shoot.” And as a replay shows, he found the inside of the far post.
In the excitement he forgot that he already had a yellow card, so he took his shirt off. “But the most important [thing] for me was to win.”
So the Manchester teams are kept apart. And United will take part in the Mark Robins derby.
Both games will be held at Wembley on the weekend of 20-21 April.
Semi-final draw
Ian Wright does the honours in the ITV studio. Coventry are first out of the bag and they will play Man United. So Chelsea will play Man City.
A teenage superstar writes.
@ManUtd ⚽️ ❤️ ☢️ 🚀 💣 💥 pic.twitter.com/BlwaAGrwbT
— Luke Littler (@LukeTheNuke180) March 17, 2024
An old Guardian hand writes.
So much to detest about football in 2024, but then you get a match like that seven-goal FA Cup QF at Old Trafford. Glorious chaos. Wonderful spirit. Fabulous mix of refined skills and human fallibility. Last-gasp drama. A neutral’s thanks to both teams.
— Richard Williams (@rwilliams1947) March 17, 2024
“Dearest Tim,” says Mac Millings, which probably means I’m about to be told off. “Bruno Fernandes did not (24 min) find ‘the wrong side of the roof of the net’ -- he found the roof of the net. Had it been on the other side, he would have found the ceiling of the net. Yours always, Mac Millings.” Ha.
United finished the game with only two recognised defenders – Maguire and Dalot. Graeme Souness can’t believe it.
Amo, amas, Amad.
Amad’s game by numbers vs. Liverpool:
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 17, 2024
100% pass accuracy
10/10 passes completed
3/4 tackles won
1 yellow
1 red
1 goal
1 ticket to the FA Cup Semi-Finals. 🥳🥳🥳 pic.twitter.com/mU87VRC6Hx
A reminder that these two teams meet again, same place, same time, on Sunday 7 April. I wonder if Amad will get on the pitch.
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For a calm appraisal of what just happened, we go live to a senior United supporter. “We’re on our way to Wembley,” says Eric Frank Anderson. “E yah adeoo. Eat your sausage, Jurgen. Mamma mia, wonders never cease!”
So the FA Cup semi-finalists are … Man City, Man United, Chelsea and Coventry. The draw follows shortly.
Rashford, who rose to the occasion at both ends of the game, joins Fernandes, United’s new centre-back, to talk to ITV. “Huge occasion,” Rashford says. “We’ve not had the season we wanted, but … it’s a massive night in the history of United.”
The magic of the Cup. Ten Hag is smiling as if he’s just been to Klopp’s dentist.
FULL TIME! United 4-3 Liverpool
It’s over. Klopp has a hug for Erik ten Hag, who still has his job.
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124 min I have no idea how much time is left…
Red card for Amad!
The corner was headed away by McTominay. Amad won the ball on the edge of the United area and raced away with Garnacho. The pass came late, but not too late, as Amad calmly found the far corner. Amad then got sent off, apparently for taking his shirt off. It’s bedlam.
GOALLLLL! United 4-3 Liverpool (Amad 121)
The corner backfires.
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120 min And Liverpool have a corner! Dalot had to concede it after doing well to get a tackle in.
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119 min Garnacho and Antony threaten to stage an escape down the United left. Bradley (I think) stops it with a foul on Garnacho. We are into Van Dijk time.
118 min Tsimikas hits a skimming cross, possibly a shot, that tests Onana. He passes the test.
117 min Rashford and McTominay combine again. This time Rashford is the supplier, with a neat low cross; McTominay’s shot is just wide.
116 min United sub: Mason Mount for Lindelof. Antony is now left-back!
115 min Mac Allister fouls Maguire on the Liverpool left … but the decision goes the other way.
Fernandes launched the ball forward from his new spot at centre-back. McTominay did well, feeding Rashford, who produced that cool side-foot slot into the corner that he loves. It’s his third goal in successive games.
GOAL! United 3-3 Liverpool (Rashford 112)
He’s done it.
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110 min United’s best hope is Eriksen finding Rashford. He does so now and Rashford plays the Hojlund role, holding the ball up, winning a free kick. United pile upfield and Maguire has a shot, straight at the keeper. Liverpool counter, only for Nunez to be pickpocketed by Amad. We’re back where we began – end to end.
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108 min Fernandes plays on for now, deep in defence, and almost hands Liverpool a gift with a misplaced pass. Ten Hag does some yelling. Kelleher gets a yellow card for time-wasting.
107 min As the game re-starts, United have another problem: Bruno Fernandes is hobbling. Have they got any subs left? I’ve lost count. The answer seems to be yes, as you can have a sixth sub in extra time.
HALF-TIME IN EXTRA TIME: United 2-3 Liverpool
United were the better team in those 15 minutes, but their formation is now built on blind hope, and it allowed Elliott to take his time and get his slice of luck.
106 min Rashford goes close! After a fine run, he shoots right across goal, and wonders where Antony and Amad are.
It was an action replay of Mac Allister’s goal. Another decent shot, made to look better by a killer deflection.
GOAL! United 2-3 Liverpool (Elliott 105)
Back in front!
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103 min Rashford goes close again! But he’s offside, after being sent clear by Fernandes’ neat chip.
102 min Another United attack brings only another Liverpool free kick.
101 min Liverpool sub: Tsimikas for Gomez.
“Watching this game,” says Paul Griffin, “you sense a Bruno Fernandes’ book entitled ‘On Leadership’ would not unduly trouble the best-seller lists, or revolutionise thinking around getting things done.” Ha.
100 min Lindelof hits a screamer into the side netting! Now I’ve seen it all.
99 min The corner yields a shot from Garnacho, blocked. The ball goes all the way to Onana and back again. Maguire, in the inside-left channel, hooks a cross over to Rashford, which Kelleher is able to grab.
98 min Garnacho, released by Amad, takes on Bradley and wins a corner.
97 min Antony tries another shot, into the traffic. Amad tries to mop up the loose ball but commits a foul. On xG, United are actually ahead, by something like 1.96 to 1.65.
93 min Liverpool weave a few patterns with their passing and Mac Allister has a free header, just over.
92 min United seem to have a back three – Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire. Fernandes has dropped deep next to Eriksen, with McTominay ahead of them and a front four of Antony, Amad, Rashford and Garnacho – two right-wingers and two left.
91 min Play resumes with everyone trying to work out what United’s formation is… And Antony comes close to another one! It’s his trademark shot, left-foot, over the bar.
Rashford, by the way, was probably offside.
Liverpool have bossed the game for the past hour, yet they haven’t found the net since their five-minute purple patch, just before half-time. They should still win because they’re so good at sealing the deal, but United did rattle them at the end of the 95 minutes, just like at the start.
EXTRA TIME! United 2-2 Liverpool
That was the last kick of normal time. Not all that normal.
90+3 min It feels like now or never for United… and Rashford, sent clean through by Eriksen, side-foots wide!
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90+2 min Head tennis in the Liverpool box: Maguire’s head to the fore.
90+2 min United charge forward, rather scrappily, but they win a corner at the Stratford End.
90+1 min Only four added minutes – old-school.
90 min United have new life in their legs. Antony crosses to Garnacho, who crosses back, but overhits it.
89 min Liverpool hit the post! They surged forward and had about six openings for a shot.
88 min McTominay did well, holding off the Liverpool midfield. Antony picked the ball up, passed to Garnacho, got it back, spun and planted a neat weaker-foot shot in the corner. That’s only his second goal of the season, and the first was in the cup too – at Newport.
GOAL! United 2-2 Liverpool (Antony 87)
Oh. My. God.
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85 min Ten Hag rolls the dice, removing Varane, who’s been good as usual, and sending on the lesser-spotted Amad. Possibly not at centre-back.
84 min Nunez gets his head to the corner but can’t keep it down. Liverpool do some strolling around at the back.
83 min Antony gets into a 50-50 with Endo, who wins it, hands down. Liverpool get forward and win yet another corner.
81 min United “have been terrible second half,” says Dixon, “but they’re still in it, that’s the thing.” Only just.
79 min As well as his ovation, Mainoo got a high-five from Klopp.
78 min Breaking after a United corner, Liverpool have a five-on-two. Five! Dalot does well to stick a toe in. Finally a United change in midfield: Mainoo off, to a big ovation; Christian Eriksen on.
76 min Liverpool subs: Bradley for Robertson, not unexpectedly; Gakpo for Salah, more surprisingly. Klopp showing faith in his understudies, as ever.
75 min Those changes from Ten Hag did nothing to change the balance of power in midfield, which is still being ruled by Endo and Mac Allister, with a little help from the bustling energy of Elliott.
75 min United get forward for the first time in a while. Garnacho can’t quite find Rashford, but then Antony has a pop from distance. Fernandes has a shot too, well blocked.
73 min A Liverpool sub too: Elliott for Szoboszlai.
71 min United subs: Ten Hag takes off the two players who came back from injury. It’s Antony for Højlund, Maguire for Wan-Bissaka, so Lindelöf will go to full-back and Rashford will go up top.
70 min Klopp is unhappy about something. It may be a first-world problem.
68 min Liverpool’s possession has gone from 57pc to 62. Erik ten Hag needs to do something, and he has two subs lined up – but I’m not sure the answer to his problem is Harry Maguire and Antony.
67 min As Szoboszlai makes a menacing run, Mainoo gets a vital tackle in.
65 min Diaz goes on a run, from the left into the middle, and tees up Salah, whose shot is tame by his standards.
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65 min Liverpool keep the ball for a bit, allowing the game to slow down a little. They are winning the midfield now.
63 min Soon enough, Nunez has a blast at the near post, forcing Onana to concede a corner, whereupon Diaz has a shot that’s blocked.
62 min Two minutes pass without a shot. What’s up?
60 min As the hour glass fills up, Gomez goes into the book for jumping onto Wan-Bissaka’s head.
59 min Liverpool take a few weeks over the free kick and then Mac Allister’s shot is over the bar.
58 min Fernandes is penalised for a foul on Szoboszlai, but it was 50-50. And the ref doesn’t reach for a card, which is lucky for Fernandes as he’s had one already. Rough justice, perhaps. He’ll probably get another one soon enough for dissent.
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57 min The early sunshine has turned to drizzle. That’s more like it, Manchester.
55 min Someone on the Liverpool left, Diaz I think, cuts in and shoots just wide. Then in the inside-right zone, Szoboszlai shoots and Onana turns it round the post. He has too much time, Lee Dixon reckons.
54 min Rashford sets Fernandes free on the left. He shoots with the outside of the right foot, hitting it well but wide, possibly with a deflection.
52 min McTominay’s cross from the right bothers Kelelher, who drops it, but no United forward is close enough to cash in the way Salah did.
51 min Liverpool counter the counter and they’re four on three. Salah is this close to slipping Nunez in, but Varane gets a toe in.
49 min United counter with Garnacho on the left. He tries to slip a through ball to Højlund, but Van Dijk reads it supremely well. Haaland, Højlund, they’re all the same to him.
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49 min Szoboszlai has a shot from the D, blocked by Varane.
48 min Nunez tests Onana from the tightest of angles, forcing Onana to squirt the ball behind for a corner. Again, nothing comes of it.
46 min As Liverpool kick off. Erik ten Hag tries to rouse the crowd. Rashford again gets down the left, feeding Wan-Bissaka, who wins a corner, but nothing comes of it.
Replay time. United goal: the long ball to Rashford that set up the move was a free kick, taken quickly by Fernandes as a few Liverpool players argued with the ref. Mac Allister goal: Quansah’s fine run was partly enabled by Rashford, who let him go dancing past. (Rashford has been shy of getting stuck in ever since Kieran Trippier gave him a back injury going for a 50-50, about two years ago now.) Salah goal: Fernandes fell on the ball on the United left, angling for a free kick that never came. He ended up with a yellow card, presumably for protesting too much. So Liverpool are well on the way to the 3-1 or 4-1 that always seemed to be on the cards here. But United have played well, apart from those fatal five minutes.
“I would hazard a guess,” says Andy Flintoff, “that the demise of the utility player has been hastened by the increase in the size of squads and the number of substitutions allowed. When it was one or two subs named, then having one player who could cover any position across the defence or midfield (like, for instance, Steve Nicol) would be very useful, but being able to name five (or more), means you can essentially fill the bench with specialists, and still have sufficient cover for injuries and plenty of options to change the game.” True.
“Paul Madeley,” said Mark Hooper, a while ago. That’s more like it. “Pretty sure John O’Shea played EVERY position one season – including goalie – didn’t he? I definitely remember mapping it out with a friend.” The kind of friend we all need.
For 43 minutes, United were the better team. But Liverpool were dominating possession and eventually their greater cohesion prevailed. If Mac Allister had some luck with his goal, Salah didn’t need any for his. He has now scored 13 times against United, in 14 games. The man is a machine.
HALF-TIME! United 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool, bloody hell.
GOAL! United 1-2 Liverpool (Salah 45+3)
Nunez shoots, Onana saves, but the ball falls kindly for Salah and United’s nemesis strikes again. VAR is on the case, though, checking about four different things but the goal stands.
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44 min Mac Allister hit the ball well and benefited from two things: a deflection off Mainoo that gave Onana no chance, and a fine run by Quansah, who ventured into the area and found Nunez. His lay-off was a simple one and Mac Allister did the rest. It’s been coming.
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GOAL! Man United 1-1 Liverpool (Mac Allister 44)
All square!
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40 min As Salah plays a nice cross from the right, the flag goes up again. Liverpool are dominating the ball now, 57-43, but of the ten shots on target so far, seven have come from United.
No goal! Still Man United 1-0 Liverpool
I take it back,. the linesman was spot-on. Salah’s chest was offside.
Goal disallowed! For Liverpool... but it may be given
Endo finds the net with a neat finish. The linesman flags for offside against Salah, but the VAR may not agree.
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37 min Back at Old Trafford, United get forward fast again and Fernandes has a long shot on target. When they come again with Mainoo on the dancefloor, Rashford plays a cutback to McTominay, who should have a second but goes straight at the keeper. And then Diaz brings a fine save out of Onana.
35 min That game has finally come to an end, at 1-1, so United have had a good weekend in the league without playing – Spurs dropped three points, Villa two.
34 min Meanwhile, in the league, West Ham and Aston Villa are still playing in the 103rd minute. It’s 1-1.
33 min Corner to Liverpool, calmly headed away by McTominay.
31 min Szoboszlai has a shot, easily saved by Onana, who has been authoritative so far. McTominay breaks and gets fouled by Mac Allister, who goes into the book. From the free kick, Varane has a free header but the ball is slightly behind him and his header is a looping one.
30 min As the half-hour mark arrives, United are still looking up for it. Varane is the latest player to go long to Rashford – too long, as the ball goes out. Rashford, who sometimes throws his arms up in the air at these moments, gives him a thumbs-up.
28 min United counter as Mainoo picks a pocket or two. Garnacho slips in Højlund, who slips, literally, in the box.
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27 min Varane heads clear, Liverpool come again but the offside flag goes up.
26 min Liverpool are getting closer. Nunez makes a good run and wins a corner off Lindelöf.
25 min A pattern is emerging: Liverpool pass it around, United pounce and try to find Rashford, who is hovering high on the left. It doesn’t work this time as McTominay’s long ball is blocked.
24 min He goes for goal, hitting it well but finding the wrong side of the roof of the net.
23 min Fernandes wins a free kick on the left wing, possibly with his theatrical skills.
21 min McTominay has time and space but he picks the wrong ball, going left to nobody when his mates were expecting him to go right to Garnacho. He’s a great servant of the club, but not a great passer.
19 min Liverpool have some advanced possession for the first time, but United win the ball back by showing some tigerishness. Where was that when they needed it in the home games against Palace, Bournemouth and Fulham?
18 min Similar story at the other end: Robertson floats a lovely cross in, but nobody can get their head to it. The chance falls to Gomez, who skies it and maintains his immaculate record of never scoring a goal.
16 min United are still in the mood. A couple of sharp interceptions give the ball to Garnacho, who draws not one attempted foul but two. The second succeeds, so United have a free kick. The centre-backs go up and Fernandes’ long ball is a good one, apart from not having anyone on the end of it.
14 min Liverpool counter and Robertson has a good chance, but he leans back too far. Before that, Mainoo was again to be seen dancing into the Liverpool box. The Old Trafford crowd, who can be muted, are making a thunderous noise.
12 min United on the march again, led by Mainoo. Garnacho’s shot is blocked and it’s a corner. Dalot has a long shot, but it sails into Row Z.
This was made by Rashford and Garnacho. Rashford took delivery of a long ball and slipped in Garnacho in the inside-left channel. His shot was saved but the ball sat up nicely for McTominay, following up and getting a tap-in. Game on!
GOAL! Man United 1-0 Liverpool (McTominay 10)
United’s bright start pays off!
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8 min Sharp work again from Mainoo, who feeds Hojlund, who can’t quite lay it off to Fernandes. And then there’s a near-miss for United as Salah pops up on the left and volleys just wide of the far post. The game has been wide open so far.
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6 min United break and Garnacho would be one on one if Højlund’s through ball was better directed. United are bringing a lot of rust to the party.
5 min To add to Liverpool’s discomfort, the sun is shining, right in Kelleher’s eyes. But now his team mates get forward and it’s their turn to have a shot saved as Szoboszlai cuts in from the right and tests Onana.
4 min Shot! Garnacho plays a shrewd square ball to Rashford, whose side-footer is on target, well saved by Kelleher.
3 min United are in their usual red, Liverpool in white with black shorts and a splash of green. And so far, the team doing the pressing is United, for once.
2 min We’re underway. Before kicking off, Bruno Fernandes had a word with Kobbie Mainoo, who has a lot of responsibility on his young shoulders. Mainoo responds by winning a midfield duel and launching a sparky attack that ends with a shot from Wan-Bissaka, who is at left-back.
An odd feature of this match is that it’s Liverpool’s last away game for a while … until they come back to Old Trafford. And it’s United’s last home game until they face Liverpool again, same time, same place, three Sundays hence. If you’re a United fan, what would you prefer – a win today or a win in the league on 7 April? Or just avoiding a rout in both?
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It’s a novelty to watch a big club match live on ITV. As part of the build-up they’ve just had a little interview with Tyson Fury, a United fan. What, he is asked, do United need to do to surprise Liverpool? “Just go out there and attack,” he says firmly. “Put pressure on them, get stuck right in, put your best foot forward. That usually works, it’s worked for me anyway, 35 times in a row.” Simple!
“The Paul Madeley of the 21st century!” says Phil Keegan. “Wow.” I wasn’t expecting that. “I totally got that reference but I am ancient (well, 64 soon). I have an American friend here in Vietnam where we live who has become interested in football, or soccer as he insists on calling it, and one way football has changed since I was a child is that players these days tend to be very specialised in terms of the position they play whereas when I was growing up they were expected to play any position. I actually used Paul Madeley as an example in that he is the only player to have played every outfield position in one season, so I enjoyed your comment.” Thanks Phil. Versatility ain’t what it used to be, much like nostalgia.
Casemiro hamstrung
Casemiro’s injury is the same one that kept him out for most of the autumn, according to the Manchester Evening News – a hamstring. The MEN makes it the 51st injury to hit United this season. More here.
“Half-time report from West Ham v Villa,” says Ian Sargeant, “if anyone is interested. Both sides started a little sleepily after their respective Thursday night endeavours. Villa have messed around at the back 3 or 4 times too often coughing up a couple of corners and possession that led to West Ham’s goal (Coufal crossing for an Antonio stooping header). The one time West Ham have tried to play out, consecutive rabonas from Paqueta and Alvarez and a volley from Paqueta proved far more useful. Entertaining enough …” Thanks!
“Bad hair day,” says Jeremy Boyce. “This may turn into one for Leicester. Dumped out of the Cup by a Premier League shambles team, player sent off, and possibly knocked off top spot after ‘N’ weeks up there depending on what goes on at Elland Road in the next 2 hours. FFP accusations flying around them too. As they say, it never rains.... Hope you’ll keep us posted on the Leeds-Millwall action.” That I can’t promise, unfortunately – I’ll be typing like the clappers as it is. And shambles, like billion-pound bottle jobs, seems a bit harsh. For all the slapstick in the boardroom, Chelsea have won every cup tie this season apart from the one they lost in the 118th minute.
United, living in the past? As if.
Nostalgic programme cover. Fortunate to have been at a few of the games.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) March 17, 2024
Ten Hag: ‘When you are a child watching football, these are the games that make you fall in love with the sport; how could anybody not be excited to be a part of this spectacle?’ #mufc pic.twitter.com/NQV21ZBOOI
Chelsea are through
Facing Leicester in today’s other quarter-final, Chelsea scored two, then conceded two, then scored two more. Do join the great Rob Smyth for the details.
Those teams in full
Manchester United (probably 4-2-3-1) Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lindelof, Dalot; Mainoo, McTominay; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.
Subs: Heaton, Kambwala, Maguire, Amrabat, Eriksen, Mount, Antony, Amad, Forson.
Liverpool (reliably 4-3-3) Kelleher; Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Nunez, Diaz.
Subs: Adrian, Bradley, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Clark, McConnell, Elliott, Gakpo, Danns.
Liverpool team: no Bradley
Jürgen Klopp picks the XI you might have predicted, except that Conor Bradley is on the bench. Joe Gomez, the Paul Madeley of the 21st century, fills in at right-back, with Jarell Quansah between him and Virgil van Dijk. Bradley is on the bench.
United team: Wan-Bissaka and Højlund in, Casemiro out
Rasmus Højlund, who turned into a talisman with his hot spell after Christmas, is back from a four-match lay-off. Aaron Wan-Bissaka returns at right-back with Diogo Dalot switching to the left. Casemiro is unfit, confirming the news that was leaked by the Brazil manager, so either Scott McTominay or Bruno Fernandes will drop back to form a rickety pivot with Kobbie Mainoo. Harry Maguire and Mason Mount are fit enough to make the bench.
Preamble
Afternoon everyone and welcome to the latest gig on Jürgen Klopp’s farewell tour. It’s the last of this year’s FA Cup quarter-finals, it’s the tie of the round, and yet it feels as if it could be horribly one-sided. Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United keep being over-run and there’s no team better at over-running than Klopp’s Liverpool. At the bookies, United are rated more likely to lose 4-1 than they are to win 1-0. And that’s with home advantage.
Still, this is the FA Cup, which always offers some hope to the plucky little outsider. United managed to scrape a 0-0 draw at Anfield in December, when their injuries were worse than Liverpool’s, and now the reverse is true. Marcus Rashford has a habit of scoring in big games, Rasmus Højlund should be back to lead the line, and if Aaron Wan-Bissaka returns too, United will actually have two full-backs who know what they’re doing.
Klopp, though, is in a different league from Ten Hag, and was even before he began this victory march. He has built a machine that runs the same way regardless of the names that happen to be on the team sheet. And now he has turned an injury crisis into an opportunity, grabbing the chance to bring on a crop of young players who can’t be called promising because they’re already delivering.
If Rashford doesn’t put in a defensive shift, Conor Bradley is going to have a party. If Joe Gomez is needed at left-back, Jarell Quansah will step up and be Virgil van Dijk’s mini-me. If Diogo Dalot is at all uncomfortable on the left, Mo Salah will add to his stash of goals against United. If Harry Maguire comes back and shows signs of rust, Darwin Nunez will run rings round him.
United, so hot and cold at home this season, are going to have to be on fire today. But, of all the competitions they’ve taken part in under Klopp, this is the one that Liverpool have found the trickiest. This is only the second time Klopp has ever been involved in an FA Cup quarter-final, after 2022, when Liverpool won at Nottingham Forest. That worked out all right: they beat Man City in a memorable semi-final and then Chelsea, on penalties, in a less memorable final. One person who may remember it is Mason Mount, yet another United player in contention for a comeback today. He took Chelsea’s last penalty and saw it saved.
Meanwhile, back in the present, kick-off is at 3.30pm GMT and the team news will be here shortly.
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