Manchester United 1-1 Fulham (3-4 on penalties): Bernd Leno produces heroics in the shootout as Fulham knock holders out of the FA Cup

A snapshot of this scene at the end of a penalty shoot-out won and perfectly executed by Marco Silva’s impressive Fulham team told us two things. 

As Fulham’s players sprinted towards the Stretford End to mob their goalkeeper Bernd Leno, it was clear just how much the FA Cup still means and also the depth of elation felt by teams and players when they win at Manchester United.

Old Trafford may not be as intimidating as it once was. Years of United drift have seen to this. Nevertheless, it’s still the most famous club stadium in England. It’s still United. It still means an awful lot.

So Fulham deserve their moment and our congratulations. They have been brave against United before and failed. Two years ago here in the FA Cup when three sending-offs derailed them. And twice in the Premier League this season when they have suffered two rather undeserved 1-0 defeats. Against that background they may feel this had been coming.

They deserved it, too. It was a tight squeak over the 130 minutes of play as Fulham led through Calvin Bassey in first half added time only to be reeled in by the latest in a line of important Bruno Fernandes contributions midway through the second period.

In truth it could have gone either way in extra-time. The game was stretched and as a result at its most entertaining. But Fulham won the shoot-out comfortably on the back of the greater experience they still had on the field at the end.

Bernd Leno denied two Manchester United spot-kicks to send the hosts out of the FA Cup

Joshua Zirkzee and Victor Lindelof missed the crucial penalties as Fulham progressed

Fernandes, Diogo Dalot and Casemiro scored United’s opening three penalties only to be matched in the high tarif of their execution by Raul Jiminez, Sande Berge and Willian. 

And when United defender Victor Lindelof blinked first – Bernd Leno saving low to his right – Fulham Antonee Robinson opened the door to the last eight by scoring past Andre Onana. When Leno then saved from Joshua Zirkzee, Fulham walked through it and now have a home draw with Crystal Palace as a reward.

There may be some debate now about the wisdom of asking Lindelof to take United’s fourth penalty. The Swede had played a minute of football for United in two-and-a-half months before coming on as a substitute here. As he walked up to take his kick, Alejandro Garnacho was waiting in the wings but, in truth, nobody else upon whom they may really have wished to rely.

The FA Cup has offered some consolation to United managers in the past even if it hasn’t been enough to save them. Erik Ten Hag won it last season. Louis van Gaal did so in 2016. Neither manager lasted very long thereafter.

It’s a competition that continues to mean a lot to the football club and some may say that was reflected in Ruben Amorim’s team selection. Others may point out that these are pretty much the only players the United manager has left. 

Garnacho started the game on the bench which was vaguely noteworthy after the United’s frustrated reaction to being substituted in the midweek win over Ipswich. That apart, United were recognisable in terms of personnel and so were Fulham, who changed three players following their most recent Premier League game against Wolves.

There was not much that was surprising about the football either. Fulham are rarely if ever overrun by United but equally they rarely manage to win. Here, they started slowly but grew in to the game to take the lead moments before half-time. United were as they often are. Tentative and a little directionless but occasionally dangerous on the counter attack.

When United won at Craven Cottage several weeks ago, their forward Rasmus Hojlund was awful. He wore his lack of confidence like a coat. Here, he was a little better. 

 Calvin Bassey headed Fulham in front on the brink of half-time after an uneventful 45 minutes

Bassey’s opener left Manchester United trailing at Old Trafford yet again this campaign

Supported by Zirkzee and Christian Eriksen behind him, he was occasionally able to stretch Fulham with his pace. In the 14th minute he beat Bassey to a low Eriksen cross at the near post but couldn’t quite turn the shot on target. A few minutes before that Fernandes had worked Fulham goalkeeper Leno with a shot from 18 yards.

There was a quiet menace early on from United but as the half wore on it dissipated. Amorim’s players could not control the tempo or flow of the game and that is often the case at Old Trafford. As a result, Fulham started to find pockets of space in midfield and work off the back of them.

It was, on the whole, a game without real chances for a long time. United goalkeeper Onana has been suffering from low confidence recently and made a right mess of what should have been a routine catch just after the half hour. 

Replays showed he actually pulled his arms away from the ball as it dropped. He was extremely lucky that it struck him and fell kindly.

Not long after that Fulham forward Sasa Lukic moved on to a deep cross for a free header that he should have directed in to the net. It was a good chance, the best of the game at that point. At the other end, Zirkzee toe poked a Fernandes cross just wide of the upright.

The game was flat and so was the atmosphere. There was a lack of belief among the home supporters and perhaps a feeling at the away end that they had been here before only to be ultimately disappointed.

By the interval, though, the Fulham fans had something to cling to. Fernandes disputed a corner down the right a minute into added time but the referee stood firm and when it arrived Rodrigo Muniz headed the ball on to the far post for Bassey to nudge it past Onana from six yards. It was a neat finish from the 25-year-old Nigerian even if he had been allowed to steal forward from a deep position completely unmarked.

Booed off at half-time, United were unchanged when they re-emerged but that soon changed. Midfielder Manuel Ugarte was replaced by Garnacho in the 51st minute while central defender Lindelof came on for Leny Yoro.

Bruno Fernandes fired in a clever first-time finish to equalise for Man United in the second half

United’s bench only numbered seven, incidentally. Two of those were goalkeepers and one of them, William Murdock, is only 17-years-old. Whether Amorim was trying to make a point about his scant resources or injury problems, only he will know.

As often, Fernandes looked the most likely to grab something for United. He at least brought a save from Leno with a low curled shot from 25 yards in the 62nd minute even if it was never going to go in.

Up at the other end, Fulham thought they had grabbed a second three minutes later. A break down the left by captain Robinson saw Andreas Pereira set up substitute Emile Smith Rowe and when he shot low,. Onana made a fumbling save down by his right post. For a moment it seemed as though the ball may trickle over the line but it was an illusion. Onana had done his bit, just.

There soon followed two more subs for United as Casemiro and the young forward Chido Obi came on. Obi, just 17, has been taken from the Arsenal academy and is yet to start a game. Within minutes, though, it was Fernandes who was once again showing everyone the way.

The low cross from Dalot on the right was decent enough but left Fernandes much to do. The only option for the United captain was to have a swing first time and his contact was true, curving the ball low through bodies and past Leno in to the far corner.

At first it seemed as though Leno may been expected to do better. But in truth the accuracy of the shot – coupled with the fact the ball came through Joachim Andersen’s legs – made it impossible for the Fulham goalkeeper.

United now had some adrenaline on which to feast and perhaps a little confidence with which to chase the victory in regulation time. Not that you would have known it. For the ten minutes or so that followed, they played like a team waiting for extra time. Quite strange.

Fulham, disappointed but not yet defeated, managed to fashion a couple of moments as Muniz worried Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt before the former snuffed out the danger and then Smith-Rowe fell over after being played in to a nice position by Robinson down the left.

Fernandes placed his shot perfectly through the legs of Joachim Andersen and into the corner

The former Arsenal player did rather better in the fourth minute of added time, moving in to a square pass from Alex Iwobi to shoot low across Onana with his right foot. This time the United keeper produced a fine orthodox save with his outstretched right hand. 

Obi then had two opportunities to write his own story, wriggling free from Bassey to pull a shot across goal and wide and then, with the last kick of what turned out to be 100 regulation minutes, poking a follow up wide after De Lijt had ventured forward to cause some havoc in the Fulham penalty area.

In to the extra period we went and not much changed. United sent on another young player as 18-year-old Ayden Heaven – also taken from Arsenal – replaced Maguire.

United maybe had a little more purpose as time wore on. It was Fulham who were starting to look a little leggy. There wasn’t much creative football being played by either team but young Obi did come close again in the last minute of the first added period, wriggling through to flick a near post shot towards the roof of the net only for Leno to reach up a hand and save well.

Often games like this one slowly die as penalties start to loom but this one didn’t. Onana saved well down to his left from Fulham substitute Ryan Sessegnon ten minutes from the end and then Casemiro arrived in space at the Stretford End to curl a shot wide from 20 yards.

Then it was on to penalties and this time – after their shoot win at Arsenal in round three = United’s luck ran out.