Soccer

It was all set up for a famous FA Cup upset as Fulham led treble-chasing Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

But in the space of seven chaotic second-half minutes, the visitors were reduced to nine players, had their manager sent off and conceded twice.

It was a meltdown of epic proportions, and United capitalised on it in ruthless fashion to advance to the semifinals with a 3-1 win that keeps the team’s three-pronged trophy pursuit on track.

There is also the prospect of a mouth-watering FA Cup final against Manchester City after the rivals were kept apart in the draw for the last four.

Thoughts of an all-Manchester showdown at Wembley on June 3, however, looked in serious doubt after Aleksandar Mitrovic fired Fulham ahead in the 50th minute of the quarterfinal match.

That was before the game was turned upside down as Fulham’s players and manager Marco Silva lost control.

Here’s how it all unfolded:

69 minutes, 20-35 seconds: The visitors had been pushing for a second goal that could have all but killed off the tie, as they attacked the Manchester United goal. Successive crosses were cleared away, and finally Harry Maguire’s header got the ball out on the right wing.

A through ball found Antony, who raced clear down the right before holding the ball up and playing through young forward Jadon Sancho. Sancho rounded the keeper, cut in and fired a shot inside the near post.

69:40: The shot was blocked by Fulham’s Brazilian midfielder Willian on the goal line, as the crowd called for a penalty and Manchester United players pleaded with referee Chris Kavanagh.

70:00 The incident was referred to VAR, as Willian claimed the ball hit his hand clenched in front of his chest. Replays, however, showed otherwise, with vision showing Willian deliberately bringing his hand down to block the ball.

70:45: The referee ran off the field to check the replays himself on the sideline video monitor.

71:00: Kavanagh was standing by the monitor watching the replay, when suddenly he looked to his right, walked towards the technical area, pulled out a red card and sent off Fulham manager Marco Silva for dissent from the dugout. The crowd roared.

71:20: Kavanagh returned to the screen and began looking at the replay.

71:35: After several views, the referee made up his mind and went back onto the pitch. Things moved swiftly after that.

71:44: He made the signal for a decision overturned and pointed towards the penalty spot as the United fans bellowed louder. A few seconds later, Kavanagh pulled out a red card and showed it to Willian for his deliberate handball in the last line of defence. Fulham were down to 10 men.

71:50: Within seconds it all kicked off, as an incensed Mitrovic stalked over and got in the referee’s face, shouting and gesticulating. Willian walked over to try to calm his teammate down,  but Kavanagh pulled out a red card for the third time in less than a minute.

Fulham were now down to nine men. Mitrovic was still angry, and he followed Kavanagh across the field, still shouting as the referee walked backwards to keep him in sight.

72:00: United goalkeeper David de Gea came over and put his arm around Mitrovic, trying to guide him away as the Old Trafford crowd roared even louder.

72:15: The benches emptied as players from both sides gathered around Kavanagh, and chaos ensued.

72:25: Fulham players and trainers continued to try to drag Mitrovic away. He finally accepted the situation.

73:15-73:45: Mitrovic and Willian made their way very slowly off the ground and up the tunnel as players waited to resume the game.

74:00-74:20: Players still gathered around the referee near the penalty area. Mitrovic could be seen on camera still watching proceedings from inside the tunnel.

74:45: Bruno Fernandes finally stepped up to take the penalty, sidling to his left, then stutter-stepping before wrong-footing the keeper and putting the ball in the corner of the net.

It was a catastrophe for Fulham, and from the restart they turned the ball over in attack. United went down the right again before Antony centred the ball. It ended up on the left, where Sancho played it through to Luke Shaw and his cross was backheeled in by Marcel Sabitzer to give the home side the lead.

It was 76 minutes and 20 seconds. In just seven minutes, the game had gone for Fulham.

Fernandes added a third in injury time to complete the scoring, and Fulham’s Cup hopes were over.

“Even if I haven’t done something special, I have to control myself,” Silva said afterward.

Manager Erik ten Hag has already led United to victory in the League Cup this season and his team is also into the quarterfinals of the Europa League where it faces Sevilla.

“One thing is important — don’t think too far ahead,” Ten Hag said. “Go from game to game.

“We see the progress in the team, but this team has a strong character, strong belief, strong determination to win games. Today was an example of it. When you have a difficult period in a game, stay in the game and turn the game.”

Mitrovic will receive at least an automatic three-game ban for his sending off, which had echoes of an infamous incident involving Paulo di Canio in 1998.

The then-Sheffield Wednesday striker was banned for 11 games after shoving referee Paul Alcock to the ground during a match.

“I saw the image and I spoke with Mitro. It is a moment for him to control the emotions,” Silva said.

“He pushed the referee but I did not see that in so bad, bad way like you are saying to me. But I hope the people who are going to decide [do so] with fairness.”

In the other quarterfinals, Brighton thumped Grimsby 5-0, including two goals from young Irish striker Evan Ferguson; Sheffield United came from 2-1 down against Blackburn Rovers to score in injury time for a 3-2 win; and Manchester City crushed Burnley 6-0 to advance to the last four.

The draw will see City play Sheffield United at Wembley on April 22, with Brighton facing United at the same venue a day later.

AP/ABC

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