Reds pay penalty for bluntness in attack

"WE'RE the famous Man United and we're going to Wem-ber-ley," a fan optimistically sang before the penalty shootout. They won't this season.

- By SAMUEL LUCKHURST

Darren Fletcher was on his way indoors as Joshua Zirkzee shaped up to take the final kick. Zirkzee won it against Arsenal in the third round but lost it in the fifth. Reds fans still sang his name as he buried his head in his shirt.

Zirkzee has five goals for United. Their attack has been halved since the August. Little wonder they struggle to hit the back of the net, even from 12 yards. Or that a first-team coach knows the score with the team that struggles to score.

The damage was done by Victor Lindelof's tame take with the fourth kick. Lindelof decided the semi-final shootout against Brighton in 2023 but that was in sudden death. Alejandro Garnacho was a far more logical option.

A centre-back stepping up rather typified the toothlessness of this United side on a day their £72m striker was replaced by a 17-year-old. And Chido Obi was an upgrade on Rasmus Hojlund.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle were all out of the FA Cup come kick-off. The Reds were not be in the velvet bag for the post-match draw at Old Trafford, either.

It has felt Europa League or bust at the club for several months and that is official now their defence of the FA Cup has ended. Not even Fulham, beaten twice by United in the Premier League, could lose three times to the worst Reds side in 51 years.

There was appreciative applause from the United fans as the players skulked around the pitch at full-time.

Matthijs de Ligt suffered cramp on his finest performance for United. Zirkzee required a masseur. Noussair Mazraoui, fasting during Ramadan, remarkably played for more than two hours, including the lengthy stoppage time. The commitment could not be faulted but the quality could.