Reds sneak into cup final after Coventry fightback

Manchester United won 4-2 on penalties

- PETE HALL

Coventry City

Simms (71), O’Hare (79), Wright (90+5 pen) 3

Manchester United

McTominay (23), Maguire (45+1), Fernandes(58) 3

Mark Robins is credited as being the man who saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s job 34 years ago, but with the now Coventry manager watching on from the sidelines, an altogether more modern entity might just, and only just, have earned the current United boss a stay of execution in extraordinary fashion.

Having seen his Manchester United side throw away a three-goal lead for the first time in 11 years, against a Championship team who had lost three of the previous four games, Coventry thought they had hammered the final nail into Erik ten Hag’s battered coffin, with the most dramatic scene Wembley has seen since its rebuild – a 120th minute winner to seal a spectacular giant-killing of epic proportions.

VAR and those passion-killing lines had other ideas, ruling out Victor Torp’s finish to take the game to penalties, which after the most almighty of reprieves you knew was only going to go one way. As Rasmus Hojlund stroked home the winning spot kick, the majority of United players were almost embarrassed to celebrate and chose to instead head straight over to shake their Coventry counterparts’ hands.