Manchester United survived an almighty scare to progress to the FA Cup final on penalties after Coventry fell agonisingly short of a sensational comeback win at Wembley.
Sky Blues captain Ben Sheaf sent the crucial kick over the crossbar leaving Rasmus Hojlund to win it, but the game will be remembered for three goals in the final 20 minutes by the Championship side as they recovered from 3-0 down to force extra-time.
Erik ten Hag’s team were three up and cruising through to the May 25 final after goals from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes put them on course for what at that stage looked a routine win.
But Mark Robins’ side, who are eighth in the second tier, roared back with a recovery that almost defied belief.
First, Ellis Simms converted a cross at the near post on 70 minutes to make it 3-1, then Callum O’Hare’s strike looped in off Aaron Wan-Bissaka to rattle United and spark a frantic finish.
Thereafter chaos reigned among Ten Hag’s defence as they clung on perilously to their lead, until three minutes into stoppage time Wan-Bissaka handled inside the box, giving Haji Wright the chance to write one of the great FA Cup stories from the penalty spot.
Sending Onana the wrong way, he coolly took the game to extra-time.
Coventry thought they had secured a stunning win when Victor Torp turned Wright’s cross into the net in the final minute of extra time before Coventry’s brief joy was extinguished a VAR review for offside.
A stunning cup tie was ultimately settled by penalties, Sheaf firing into the United fans as Coventry fell short by a whisker.
United had the first chance after six minutes. Onana hoofed the ball towards the edge of the Coventry box where Fernandes was waiting to nod it into the path of Alejandro Garnacho, who stretched but could only guide it wide.
Marcus Rashford was next to go close, taking Casemiro’s raking 60-yard pass brilliantly in his stride before clipping a shot wide of Bradley Collins’ post.
Coventry were struggling to emerge from their own half and a goal for United seemed a matter of time.
It arrived after 23 minutes, Garnacho receiving the ball wide on the right and feeding the overlapping Diogo Dalot. His low ball found McTominay, stealing away from his defender to knock in his 10th goal of the season from virtually on the line.
Coventry finally threatened five minutes before half-time, Josh Eccles getting free on the right of the penalty area and crossing dangerously into the six-yard box.
It looked destined for the foot of Simms, before Dalot bravely intervened to clear for United with a lunging tackle.
Rashford drew a fine save from Collins moments before the break and at that moment it looked like Coventry would see out the half only a goal behind.
But their defence could not hold and from the resulting corner Maguire evaded the attentions of everybody in sky blue and planted a header into the bottom corner for 2-0.
The fight looked gone from Coventry on the hour mark when Fernandes scored via a deflection to make it three.
Joel Latibeaudiere initially derailed Rashford as he sought space to shoot but the ball slithered out of the defender’s control and arrived at the feet of United’s captain who lashed it into the net via the unfortunate Bobby Thomas.
The tie looked over but from somewhere Coventry summoned an heroic resolve. Simms ignited a flicker of hope, guiding Fabio Tavares’ low cross beyond Onana, then O’Hare’s strike hit Wan-Bissaka and sailed over the goalkeeper for 3-2.
Haji’s penalty sparked joy amongst Sky Blues fans behind the goal as under-pressure United Ten Hag watched on forlornly.
Fernandes and Simms hit the underside of the same crossbar in either period of extra-time, then Torp thought he had won it in added time before VAR’s intervention.
After Casemiro and O’Hare saw their penalties saved in the shootout, it fell to Hojlund to hit the winning kick as United breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Journeyman Joselu takes long, winding road to Champions League final
Real Madrid striker Joselu was in dreamland after he came on in the dying moments of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and turned the game on its head with two goals to snatch a stunning victory.
Joselu, whose journeyman career has included spells at clubs such as Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hannover 96, Stoke City and Newcastle United, only touched the ball a few times in their 2-1 second-leg win, but it was a night he is likely to remember for a long time.
He pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, stabbing the ball into the net to equalise for Madrid in the 88th minute, and just under three minutes later, he volleyed them into the lead from a cross by Antonio Rudiger.
"I don't know anything about being a hero, but I'm very happy... You can imagine," he said. "It was incredible, something spectacular. This team never gives up, it's in its blood to fight to the end and that's what we've done.
"You always dream of this kind of performance, but not even my most beautiful dreams are as big as what happened today."
On loan from second-division side Espanyol, Joselu's journey to becoming the semi-final hero has been long and winding in a career involving a dozen clubs across Europe.
He began his career at Celta Vigo before being bought in 2009 by Madrid, where he excelled in their B team but rarely made it to the first team.
He was sold to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in 2012 and then loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Hannover 96 in 2014.
In 2015, he moved to Premier League side Stoke City, playing 27 times and scoring four goals, before spending two seasons at Newcastle United. He returned to Spain with Alaves, where he scored 36 times in three seasons.
He signed as a free agent with Espanyol in the summer of 2022, and a year later was loaned to Madrid and has scored nine goals in 32 appearances this season in LaLiga.
Joselu, born in Stuttgart, Germany, made his debut for Spain aged 33, coming off the bench against Norway to score twice in two minutes in March 2023.
"I don’t think Joselu will be sleeping much tonight, he’ll be useless in training tomorrow!" team-mate Jude Bellingham said. "He deserves it all, he’s been an amazing member of the squad all season, and it’s his night."
Tuchel: Champions League semi-final defeat 'tough to accept'
Thomas Tuchel reflects on "tough to accept" defeat after Real Madrid came from behind to win 2-1 and knock Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Wednesday.
After a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the semi-final at the Allianz Arena, Bayern took the lead in the 68th minute through Alphonso Davies.
However, Joselu came off the bench to score twice in three minutes to send the LaLiga champions to the Champions League final with a 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern.
"It hurts. It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand, it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch,” Tuchel told DAZN after the game.
"Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets. But on the other, there were too many injuries, a few too many substitutions, too many cramps.
"We started with a front four and by the end they were all off the pitch. And then Manu, who had been exceptional in saving us all night, made a mistake he wouldn’t make in another 100 years."
In stoppage time, Matthijs de Ligt had the ball in the back of the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and Tuchel was frustrated with how the situation was handled.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Tuchel said: "We are almost through, it's almost there and there was a very unusual mistake from our best player for the equaliser, then we conceded the second one in stoppage time.
"Then we scored one and there was a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee. It feels like a betrayal in the end. There was a huge fight, we left everything on the pitch, and we were almost there. Now we say congratulations to Real Madrid.
"The linesman says sorry, but that does not help. To raise the flag in a moment like this... The referee sees we get the second ball, and we get the shot - it's a very, very bad decision. It's against the rules. It's a disaster. It's hard to swallow, but that's the way it is."
Manuel Neuer made five saves in the game and looked equal to Madrid’s threat until he spilled the ball in the build-up to Joselu’s first goal.
"Anyone who’s ever played football knows how I’m feeling right now," he told DAZN.
"That we’ve been knocked out in the closing stages, having led 1-0 until the 88th minute, it’s extremely bitter.
"We’d taken one step to London; we saw ourselves in the final, and now I’m lost for words."
Super-sub Joselu strikes again as comeback kings Madrid pounce
Joselu was the hero for Real Madrid as he scored twice off the bench to send them through to the Champions League final.
The Spaniard’s late brace secured Madrid’s comeback after Alphonso Davies had given the German side the lead, securing a 2-1 victory on the night, and a 4-3 win on aggregate to set up a meeting with Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
With only 10 minutes plus stoppage time to make an impact, Joselu made his time on the pitch count.
He scored with both his shots, becoming the oldest substitute to score a brace in a knockout game in the Champions League.
The forward is Madrid’s highest scorer in the competition this season with five goals, netting three of those after coming off the bench.
It is also the second time he has scored a double against a German team in the Champions League this campaign, getting his other against Union Berlin in the group stages.
Bayern were left to rue a late lapse in concentration that saw them concede twice in the space of two minutes and 44 seconds.
After Davies, who has been heavily linked with Los Blancos, became the first Canadian player to score in the knockout stages of the Champions League, with what was his maiden goal in the competition, it was a mistake that led to Madrid's equaliser.
It is the first time since April 2021 against Paris Saint-Germain that Manuel Neuer made an error leading to an opposition goal in the competition.
Bayern have now lost 11 Champions League matches against Madrid, the most one side has lost against another in the competition’s history.
It was always going to be a tough game for Thomas Tuchel’s side even after taking the lead – Madrid have won four matches despite conceding first in the Champions League this season, the most by a side in a single campaign since they won the trophy in 2016-17 (five).
Los Blancos have reached an 18th final in the European Cup/Champions League, but this is the first time they will play the showcase game at Wembley or in England altogether.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has reached his sixth Champions League final, two more than any other coach in the history of the competition.
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