Manchester United progressed to the FA Cup final for the first time since 2007 with a 2-1 win over Everton after one of the most exciting semi finals in recent memory.
In a game characterised by numerous defensive mistakes and end-to-end attacking, it took Anthony Martial’s 93rd minute strike to separate the teams.
Everton were soft in defence for the entire first-half and Marouane Fellaini took full advance to give United the lead following a brilliant run from Martial. Wasteful finishing from the Red Devils kept the Toffees in it, as the blue midfielders resembled little more than witches hats that United tore through at will.
That all changed after halftime though, as Everton pushed up higher and pressured Louis van Gaal’s midfield players and defenders. The result was a completely different game, in which it was the Merseysiders’ turn to dominate.
When Martial picked up a knock after an hour, Everton sparked to life. The Toffees were rewarded for their gusto with a questionable penalty call for a foul on Ross Barkley. Romelu Lukaku stepped up, but had this low and hard shot brilliantly saved by David De Gea. Far from being deflated, the Toffees kept coming forward and eventually found their equaliser courtesy of a Chris Smalling own goal. They looked as though they would press on for the win, such was their attacking intent and United’s wobbly defending.
It was not to be. The young star Martial, again United’s best player for the day, stood tall when it mattered most and kept his nerve to finish and book United a place in the final. It was a fitting end to what was truly a marvellous afternoon at Wembley.
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Everton
Joel Robles – 6: The Everton goalkeeper received few favours from his outfielders, yet it was United’s poor finishing rather than the skill of their custodian that kept the Toffees in the game.
Muhamed Besic – 4: Martial’s fine form ensured a rough afternoon for the midfielder-come-defender. With little support from further up the field, there was little he could do to stop the rampaging Frenchman.
John Stones – 5: Came into the game severely underdone but did his best to keep United out with some courageous blocks. Both Everton’s central-defenders rode their luck for the majority of the afternoon.
Phil Jagielka – 5: Lucky to get away with a blatant handball to deny Fellaini’s his second. Spent most of the game desperately trying to put out fires.
Leighton Baines – 5: Was not given much opportunity to get forward, which was a shame given how shaky Timothy Fosu-Mensah looked at right-back. Had an interesting defensive duel with Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard for much of the evening.
Darron Gibson – 6: Overrun in holding-midfield for much of the first-half. Gibson recovered and the former United man did a good job of playing the ball out to Lukaku quickly. His presence was a rock on which the rest of the team could build.
James McCarthy – 4: A tough day for McCarthy, who struggled to track United’s runners and had little impact on the game going forward.
Aaron Lennon – 5: Had little impact as the opposition pinned Everton deep early. Substituted off after 69 minutes.
Ross Barkley – 6: Looked a bit out of sorts for much of the afternoon until he was brought down by Fosu-Mensah for the penalty. Seemed to pop-up in dangerous positions, but failed to make any meaningful impact.
Tom Cleverley – 6: Quiet in the first-half as United ran riot, but sprang to life following the penalty miss. Let a couple of golden chances to level the scores go begging, but was certainly influential in Everton’s fight back.
Romelu Lukaku – 7: His pace and size wreaked havoc in United’s defence all afternoon. Smalling and company seemed unable to deal with him from the start, however, the big striker failed to get on the score sheet despite having more than a handful of glorious chances. Had one shot brilliantly cleared off the line by Rooney early in the piece, another goal bound effort was blocked by Fellaini. His afternoon will be remembered for his penalty miss though, which was brilliantly saved by De Gea.
Substitutes
Gerard Deulofeu – 6: Introduced after 69 minutes for Lennon and his cross led to Smalling’s own goal. Played with more purpose and impact than some of his teammates
Kevin Mirallas – N/A: Came on in the last minute.
Manchester United
David De Gea – 9: The Spanish goalkeeper was once again the hero as he pulled off a truly great save to deny Lukaku from the spot. The Belgian striker hit it hard and low, as it was an outrageous combination of strength and reflexes for the Spaniard to get down and keep it out. His ability to make strikers uncomfortable in one-on-one situations is world class.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah – 2: An awful afternoon for the young defender. A shocking mistake let Lukaku straight through on goal inside the first five minutes and after halftime it was his clumsy tackle that gave away a penalty. Fortunately for him, more experienced teammates were on hand to bail him out. The penalty decision was somewhat contentious, he looked to genuinely win the ball but there was plenty of contact. A penalty felt a harsh but reasonable call. Few were surprised when he was substituted off for Valencia after 60 minutes.
Chris Smalling – 3: Out of sorts for most of the afternoon. The Englishman had little answer for Lukaku as the Belgian was consistently looking dangerous. His woeful attempt at a clearance that ended up in his own net summed up what was a poor performance.
Daley Blind – 5: Always in for a tough afternoon against the size and force of Lukaku. Blind had the task of trying to marshall United’s rearguard with little help from others around him.
Marcos Rojo – 5: Had very little to do defensively in the first 45 minutes, so ge would have been disappointed that he could not have more impact going forward.
Michael Carrick – 6: A vintage display from the veteran early on where he recycled the ball expertly and seemed to intercept everything. After halftime, he seemed to go missing just when United needed him to stand up most.
Marouane Fellaini – 8: The giant Belgian has been United’s FA Cup hero and continued on with another fine display. His smart near-post run put United one ahead after 34 minutes and while he somehow missed out on adding a second just after the hour mark, replays showed that he was only denied by a clear handball from Jagielka. He had many other fine moments, including a goal saving tackle on Lukaku before being substituted for Herrera after 86 minutes.
Jesse Lingard – 7: Better finishing from Lingard could have put this game beyond doubt much earlier in the piece. He squandered several great chances to score, but was heavily involved in most of United’s good moves.
Wayne Rooney – 8: A sensational performance from the skipper whose move into midfield has revitalised van Gaal’s team at a critical stage. It was his brilliant save off the line that denied Lukaku early on and his passing was superb throughout.
Anthony Martial – 9: A genuine match winning display from the young Frenchman, who was simply unstoppable and was consistently given too much space by Everton’s defenders, clearly worried about his pace and skill. He skipped past multiple defenders to tee up Fellaini for United’s opener and his 93rd minute winner showed the class and composure of a great striker.
Marcus Rashford – 7: The youngster did a lot right and made a lot of good moves without having any game changing impact. His speed and trickery was evidently a concern for the Everton defence.
Substitutes
Antonio Valencia – 6: Substituted on for Fosu-Mensah after 60 minutes and did well to withstand the Everton barrage at a time when United was looking shaky. On the basis of this performance he should have been given the starting nod and must be favourite to start in the final.
Ander Herrera – 5: Replaced Fellaini after 86 minutes. His ridiculous challenge on Barkley was one of the more cynical ‘professional’ fouls you will ever see. Got a critical toe in to set up Martial for United’s winner.
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