Man United Crashed Out Of FA Cup After Middlesbrough Penalty Win

They only had themselves to blame after failing to capitalize on numerous opportunities in a game in which they had 30 shots on goal, the clearest of which came when Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in the first half.

Man United were knocked out of the FA Cup by Middlesbrough, who came from behind at Old Trafford and then won in a nail-biting 16-shot penalty shootout.

Anthony Elanga, a young striker, ballooned his shot over the bar to give Chris Wilder’s side a victory that was celebrated enthusiastically by a 9,000-strong visiting crowd.

Middlesbrough had advanced for only the second time in 11 Premier League meetings, following their equally surprising success at Manchester City in 2015.

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Middlesbrough’s controversial equalizer, scored by Matt Crooks, who tapped home despite Duncan Watmore clearly handling in the build-up, will irritate Man United.

They only had themselves to blame after failing to capitalize on numerous opportunities in a game in which they had 30 shots on goal, the clearest of which came when Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in the first half.

With a goal on his FA Cup debut, Jadon Sancho appeared to have put Manchester United on the path to the last 16. Instead, Man United’s best chance of winning a trophy has vanished. The FA Cup fifth round draw will take place on Sunday at 11:40 GMT.

Who knew a change in the handball rule would have such an impact on the outcome of this match? Following a revision of the rule’s interpretation by IFAB over the summer, accidental handball is now only penalized if the player in question scores a goal.

So, despite the fact that the ball clearly struck Watmore’s hand before he lobbed the decisive pass to Crooks, referee Anthony Taylor ruled it was an accident because the ball had flicked up off the Middlesbrough man’s body. This was later confirmed by VAR Stuart Attwell, who agreed with Taylor’s assessment.

Man United had only themselves to blame for the mess they found themselves in as their wastefulness began in the first two minutes, with a terrible mix-up in the Boro defense resulting in Sancho lobbing against the bar from the edge of the area before Bruno Fernandes fired over when it appeared easier to score.

Fernandes had a dreadful night. He thought he was offside when he headed over from eight yards out, unmarked. However, television replays revealed that the goal would have stood. That miss was on par with when he hit the post in the second half with the goal at his disposal.

There was also Ronaldo, whose night was summed up late in extra time when United tried to counter and he attempted a 10-yard pass to Fred, which he overhit straight to an opponent, forcing the Brazilian to make a crude challenge at the expense of a yellow card to ensure the home goal was not jeopardized.

When Ronaldo missed his penalty, the crowd erupted more than when Boro equalized. In a game of razor-thin margins, the Portuguese’s attempt to find the bottom corner after Anfernee Dijksteel slipped and collided with Paul Pogba was only a couple of inches off target. But it was sufficient.

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Sancho did score thanks to a deflection, but United’s wastefulness kept the visitors in the game, implying that the VAR controversy was important, and by the end, it was Dean Henderson who was needed to ensure the match went to penalties when he blocked Aaron Connolly’s goalbound effort.

If United’s evening wasn’t bad enough on the field, they were humiliated off it as well, when a technical problem meant no food or beverages could be served at half-time, prompting chants of ‘we want Glazers out’ from a section of the United crowd.

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