Richard Keys says Manchester United beat Fulham with 10 men (Pictures: Getty)
Richard Keys has joked that Manchester United played with 10 men in their FA Cup quarter-final victory over Fulham as he took another pop at Wout Weghorst.
United took advantage of an extraordinary Fulham implosion to clinch a 3-1 win at Old Trafford on Sunday and book their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Fulham were the better side for much of the game and went ahead shortly after half-time through Aleksandar Mitrovic.
But in the space of two minutes Fulham lost two players, their manager and the lead.
The drama began when Manchester United counter-attacked and Jadon Sancho’s shot was cleared off the line by Willian.
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially gave a corner but was advised to check the pitchside monitor as the former Arsenal and Chelsea winger clearly blocked the shot with his arm.
Willian was sent off and United awarded a penalty but Fulham lost manager Marco Silva before Kavanagh even reached the monitor as he protested against a decision that look inevitable.
Two Fulham players were sent off at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)
Mitrovic then remonstrated against both decisions and was also sent off after grabbing the referee’s arm and then appearing to try to intimidate the official.
Once order was restored, Bruno Fernandes tucked home the penalty and just two minutes later Manchester United were ahead as Bayern Munich loanee Marcel Sabitzer scored his first goal for the club.
Fernandes put the tie to bed with his second goal in injury-time, sending Fulham out of the FA Cup and United into the semi-finals, where they will face Brighton.
Sports broadcaster Keys has slammed Fulham for ‘tossing away the match’ and says they should have kept their composure as they were capable of going through even after losing one player, claiming United ‘only had 10 on’ themselves due to the presence of Weghorst up front.
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Netherlands striker Weghorst has scored just two goals in 18 appearances since his January loan move from Burnley and Keys has previously described him as the ‘worst player he’s ever seen’ at Old Trafford.
‘Having berated some – let’s give Chris Kavanagh credit for his handling of a shambles all of Fulham’s making at Old Trafford,’ Keys said on his blog.
‘What were they thinking? Never has a team been more guilty of tossing away a match. Ninety seconds of madness cost them.
‘Kavanagh was terrific and got every call right – including denying Mitrovic a pen in the first half, the incident that sparked Marco Silva’s fury.
‘Silva thought Kavanagh should’ve been asked to check his monitor when Mitrovic and the wee man clashed in the box. If Kavanagh had done he wouldn’t have changed his mind, but perhaps a look would’ve satisfied Silva?
Wout Weghorst has struggled in front of goal since joining United (Picture: Getty)
‘Mitrovic should be banned for some time for his ridiculous attack on the ref. What was going through his mind?
‘The way United were playing I’d have fancied Fulham to beat them with 10 anyway. Sending Willian off only evened things up. United only had 10 on. You can’t count Weghorst.
‘When he lost control Mitrovic cost Fulham any chance of winning the game. It was an irony that Fernandes got a couple because he should be serving a ban.
‘I still don’t know how he escaped an FA charge after he man-handled the assistant at Anfield. The FA were weak and should’ve charged him.’
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United came from behind to progress in the FA Cup.
