Man Utd reach FA Cup final: Why Erik ten Hag has chance of 'glorious conclusion' to first season
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Man Utd win shootout to reach FA Cup final
Manchester United's season may have had its dark moments but can still end as a highly successful campaign of transition for manager Erik ten Hag after they reached the FA Cup final with victory over Brighton.
The glass half-empty outsiders may look in at Old Trafford affairs and focus on the 4-0 humiliation at Brentford in the second Premier League game of the season, six goals conceded at Manchester City then seven at Liverpool, as well as the embarrassing Europa League quarter-final collapse against Sevilla.
What is far more significant in the overall ledger is that in Ten Hag's opening salvo they have won their first trophy since 2017 in the League Cup, look in prime position to return to the Champions League via the top four, and have now reached a second domestic Wembley showpiece this term as they prepare to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on 3 June.
One side of the equation undoubtedly reflects the distance Ten Hag needs to travel but the other demonstrates, for all the very obvious faults of a team still requiring a major overhaul to deliver an injection of quality and mental strength, the Dutch manager has got them moving in the right direction following the years on the margins.
On that basis, if United can add a place in the top four to the League Cup going into the first all-Manchester FA Cup final, then Ten Hag can reflect on his first season with satisfaction, with the knowledge he still has so much to do to take United closer to where they want to be.
There are problems at Manchester United that many performances have highlighted but Ten Hag gives the appearance of a manager who can finally find solutions - and if he can do it while winning trophies and putting them back in the Champions League, all the better.
De Gea the 'poster boy' for United inconsistency
It has certainly been the very definition of a mixed bag this term and goalkeeper David de Gea could be labelled the poster boy for the rollercoaster quality of United's performances after the last four days.
De Gea came into the FA Cup semi-final under heavy scrutiny following his calamitous part as Manchester United subsided to defeat in Seville.
And yet, in keeping with the two faces Erik ten Hag's side can display, De Gea delivered an exemplary performance to ensure they came out on the right side of a semi-final they entered as underdogs in the eyes of many observers.
He looked a bag of nerves in Spain, especially with the ball at his feet, but here against this fine Brighton side in a semi-final that fell short of expectations, De Gea delivered when it mattered.
De Gea started by showing athleticism to turn away Alexis Mac Allister's early free-kick while he also denied Julio Enciso with a fine save to turn his powerful effort over the top.
He was powerless to stop six Brighton penalties but, once the unfortunate Solly March skied the seventh, Victor Lindelof stepped forward to complete the formalities.
It gives Manchester United what may yet prove to be an opportunity to deny arch-rivals Manchester City a repeat of their historic feat of 1999, when Sir Alex Ferguson's side won the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Manchester United's players celebrate as the winning penalty goes in to send them to the FA Cup final
Ten Hag returning United to former health
This was nowhere near a classic and no sound judge would put Manchester United anywhere near the supreme quality of Manchester City, or even Arsenal on this season's evidence, but make no mistake that Ten Hag's renewal is a huge step forward from the misery suffered under first Ole Gunnar Solskjaer then Ralf Rangnick last season - the latter claiming the club needed "open heart surgery" after they finished sixth, but 13 points off the top four.
Ten Hag still has many ills to cure but he is at least prescribing the sort of medication that is returning Manchester United to something like their former health.
This performance, based more on grim determination and a refusal to buckle against a team of such enterprise in Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton, was far more to Ten Hag's liking than the one he witnessed in the 3-0 loss to Sevilla on Thursday.
He said: "On Thursday I saw a team I didn't recognise but today we went back to usual."
Manchester City will be firm favourites when the two sides meet in the FA Cup final but United's confidence will be boosted by the fact they beat Pep Guardiola's side in the derby at Old Trafford in January.
Ten Hag will be looking to strengthen in many areas once that showpiece final is concluded but for now, he will be delighted with the opportunity to give his first year at the helm a glorious conclusion.
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