Manchester United made their way into the FA Cup Final after a win on penalties against FA Cup. After taking a 3-0 lead, it looked like the Red Devils were on their way to secure a comfortable win. However, their championship opponents, Coventry, showed their never-say-never attitude and came back from behind to make it 3-3 after 95 minutes of football.
The game went into overtime and this tested the nerves of all the fans present in Wembley as both sides looked like they would score. It looked like Coventry did score in the dying minutes of overtime, but Victor Torp’s goal was disallowed after VAR intervention. After entertaining fans for over 120 minutes, the two teams were set to enter into penalty shootouts. Casemiro’s miss gave Coventry fans the hope of returning to Wembley, but the Red Devils did not miss any of their penalties after that and secured a win to book their place in the Final.
Although Manchester United‘s performance showcased resilience, it also showed how far off this side is compared to the other big teams in Europe. Despite having some of the most expensive players, this side almost bottled a 3-0 lead to a Coventry side that may not even make the Championship Playoffs this season.
Manchester United need to do some business in the summer
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover has given the hope of better times at the club. Under the ownership of the Glazers, the team seemed to struggle to find the right structure, but this has already been taken care of by INEOS. The club have brought some big names with previous experience in managing big clubs like Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada. They are in talks with Newcastle United to bring in Dan Ashworth as their main man to lead this project.
A proper structure is essential, but so are players and Manchester United need to buy some of them in the summer. The current team lacks the mentality that it takes to win trophies and it has been proven with their performances over the last couple of months. Erik Ten Hag certainly deserves credit as he has led the Red Devils to their second consecutive FA Cup Final appearance, but the bar is much higher than that at a club like United.
Manchester United need to let go of some of their players
United have players like Marcus Rashford, who are on massive contracts but lack the skillset to compete against some of the better defenders in the league. He has been at the club since a very young age and scored a lot of goals for the team. However, this season showed why he will never be the man to carry the club like the other greats did. The England international lacks character and is extremely limited when it comes to his ability on the pitch.
Other players like Anthony, Scott McTominay, Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial are also some of the names that the team need to decide about in the summer. These are all players who have shown glimpses of talent, but they have not taken the next step and if the club are to move ahead, they will need to either hope for them to deliver or move on from them.
Erik Ten Hag certainly finds himself in a tough spot as he has not had the full squad in a long time due to injuries. He is also under the spotlight and the recent results are certainly not helping his case. However, INEOS will need to understand that he has not had healthy players and worked in some tough times at the club. Although he does not have a big trophy cabinet to showcase, the Dutch coach has shown promise and if he is given the proper resources, Ten Hag could be the man to lead the club back to their glory days.
