MAN UTD 3-1 FULHAM

Fulham’s FA Cup journey came to an end on Sunday after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Aleksandar Mitrović put us ahead soon after the break but a wild few minutes saw our scorer, Willian and Marco Silva all receive red cards. A Bruno Fernandes penalty and Marcel Sabitzer strike flipped the game on its head, before Fernandes netted his second to kill the tie late on.

Silva made three changes as our attention turned to cup duties. At the back, Issa Diop partnered up with Tim Ream in place of Tosin, while João Palhinha returned from his two-match ban to star in midfield.

We were also boosted by the availability of Willian, who replaced Manor Solomon having previously missed our defeat to Arsenal.

We started brightly, with our passionate fans making all the noise early on. Mitrović got in down the right before having his decent delivery towards Andreas Pereira cleared away for a corner.

Then, just seconds later, David De Gea needed to be alert to tip Diop’s looping header over the bar.

All the opportunities were going Fulham’s way in the early stages. Andreas bombed forward before finding Mitro who in turn laid the ball off to Willian. Unfortunately, The Brazilian’s first-time effort went spinning wide.

It took until the 13^th minute for the home side to create their first real chance, which went the way of Wout Weghorst. Marcus Rashford was released down the left and found the Dutchman with a clever pass, but his left-footed effort was a weak one.

We were being treated to an action-packed game. Straight down the other end, Harrison Reed beat his man and found himself charging into the area with time and space. His low cross was well cleared before it could reach Andreas.

We continued to cause Erik ten Hag’s side problems. Antonee Robinson covered ground down the left before curling a nice cross towards Mitro, whose powerful header flew over the bar.

Bernd Leno needed to be alert for us five minutes before the break, blocking Marcel Sabitzer’s stinging shot before rushing off his line to claim the loose ball.

Tim Ream came to our rescue a few minutes later, making a heroic block to deny Scott McTominay from close-range after a flowing Man Utd move.

Following a high-octane 45 minutes at Old Trafford, we went in at half-time with it goalless.

We started the second half just as strongly. Willian’s intelligent back heel found Jedi, whose right-footed shot needed to be tipped over by De Gea. The move came about as a result of one of João’s signature slide tackles.

We were soon rewarded, taking the lead just a couple of minutes later. Andreas’ corner was flicked on by Diop before being smashed into the back of the net by Mitro. Advantage Fulham!

The home side looked to show a response after going behind. Rashford squared the ball to Bruno Fernandes, whose attempt from the edge of the area whizzed wide of the far post.

Mitro so nearly grabbed his second on 65 minutes, if not for an unbelievable piece of goalkeeping. The Serbian had his brilliant header somehow clawed away by the Man Utd stopper.

Things took a nasty turn for us with just over 15 minutes remaining. After appearing to clear Jadon Sancho’s effort off the line with his hand, Willian was sent off and the hosts were awarded a penalty which was converted by Fernandes.

Just before the spot kick was taken, following frustrations on and off the pitch, both Mitro and Marco Silva were also shown red cards.

Things got worse for us just moments later, when Sabitzer got on the end of a Shaw square ball before tapping home. A disastrous few minutes for us in Manchester.

Substitute Antony almost added a third with a few minutes remaining. After taking the ball around Leno, Diop stuck out a leg to stop him in his tracks before he could pull the trigger.

In the dying embers, Fernandes got on the end of a Fred through-ball before belting a strike past Leno to make it 3-1.

Despite producing a strong display for much of the game, our incredible cup run came to an end.