Man United's penalty shoot out fortunes took a turn for the better, as they knocked Brighton out of the FA Cup to set up a meeting with Manchester City in final on June 3, after winning 7-6 on penalties following a scoreless encounter in normal and extra-time.
Brighton were largely dominant in the first half, before Man United came back in the minutes leading up to the break and produced the best chances of the opening 40.
There were no sitters missed but Brighton squandered a couple of gilt edged opportunities in the second half, before a cagey 30 minutes of extra-time lead to penalties.
The spot kicks were perfect until Solly March blasted his over the bar, handing Victor Lindelof to opportunity to stroke the ball home into the top corner and secure the victory.
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi was proud of his side's performance, but his post match comments leaned slightly on the bitter side, as he implied that Man United did not deserve to go through.
It's football. We are disappointed and very sad. We played a great game. We have a lot of injuries and we suffered due to this situation. It's sad for us and for our fans.
Usually in penalties the winner is the one who doesn't deserve it. We made some mistakes in the final pass around the goal area but I'm really pleased with the performance from my players.
We have to close this page and think about the next game on Wednesday in Nottingham. We have a lot of games and want to get into Europe.
Roberto De Zerbi Was Bitter After FA Cup Defeat To Man United
VICTOR LINDELOF SENDS MAN UNITED TO THE FA CUP FINAL 😱🏆 pic.twitter.com/8KGIREVTb6
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 23, 2023
READ HERE: Intriguing FA Cup Parallels Between City's Treble March And 1999
Man United manager Erik ten Hag was similarly praiseful of his own side, and was particularly complimentary towards David de Gea who bounced back well after a horror show in their midweek Europa League loss to Sevilla.
"On Thursday I saw a team I didn't recognise but today we went back to usual. I could see determination and resilience.
"We fought for every yard and competed in every battle. We had good chances."
SEE ALSO: Roy Keane Disappointed With John Egan In FA Cup Semi-Final Defeat
