Fulham at Manchester United - FA Cup 5th Round

Fulham face the one team that seems to have their number for the third time this season. Manchester United will host Fulham for the 5th Round of of the FA Cup. The game will be on ESPN+ with kickoff Sunday at 11:30am EST.

Fulham has clearly been a better team than Manchester United this season with a nine point gap between the two in the league with just 11 matches to go. However, Fulham has been beaten twice in close matches due to fluky winning goals for United. Then there is the FA Cup history between these two. Fulham hasn't beaten Manchester United in the FA Cup since 1908. While none of us remember that day, we would all probably like to forget the FA Cup Quarterfinal matchup with United two years ago. It was the worst day I've ever had as a Fulham fan. Worse than any relegation. I was so embarrassed by the way the team collapsed with three red cards (one was for Silva) when they were so close to a semi-final appearance at Wembley. It was essentially how the Mitrovic era ended at Fulham when an extended suspension saw him out for a good chunk of the remaining season. That first season up under Silva had gone a lot like this season to that point (except that season we beat the teams below us rather than the other way around) so there is a cloud hanging over this that it could all go south again.

It is hard to know what Fulham will do in this match. Even the line up is a bit of a question. Do they go with a five at the back setup that worked against Wolves and some other teams? Or do they revert back to the standard formation that looked amazing against Forest and terrible against Palace (a lineup that has also failed to find success against United twice earlier this season). Smith Rowe has started in the 10 role in the previous United matches, so maybe at least try something different there. This team has the quality to beat Manchester United, it is just a matter of if they will bring it.

I try to remind myself that regardless of what happens on Sunday, this has been a fantastic season for Fulham - one of the best ever. I'm a little greedy though, and would like a little bit more by finally getting a deserved win over United.

 

But don’t forget that before these last two flukey Man U wins, Fulham pulled the great double Nigerian at Old Trafford last February.

https://www.fulhamfc.com/videos/5964eb5e-e666-410b-b6f7-c771732e55e8

Who’s to say that they can’t do it again?

 

Let’s go to the quarters!

 

After two losses in the games we dominated, we win the one where we play down to their level. Funny, but happy to take it. Worried about Traore's knee. Looks like we're playing Crystal Palace in the quarters. Payback time.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking too! After a series of poor passes, bad decisions, and miscommunication between players, I thought at the 3:30 mark "Fulham is not on their game today, they are going to lose." Well, I was half right. Fulham have had other matches like this one where they look absolutely toothless in the final third. Traore was holding the ball too long and not connecting with his crosses. Iwobi and Robinson both seemed off - they lost control of the ball multiple times just trying to dribble forward. Berge is often hesitant moving forward and he was really shy today. Smith Rowe seemed lost. All that combined for a very frustrating match. I felt really bad for Castagne, the guy who has played more minutes recently than anyone else, because he kept making runs that no one took advantage of until FINALLY in extra time Sessegnon fed him the ball. He made a dangerous cross that was put out for a Fulham corner. That should have happened far earlier in the match.

The defense played pretty good, but Manchester United really should have won with one of those late opportunities they had when Fulham looked really spent. I thought Bassey was the MotM. He almost got caught out a couple times but always managed to recover. He really provided some stability at the back today. I just wish Bassey or Iwobi could have scored so we could have had a second dose of "doing the double Nigerian"!

Given Fulham's track record with shootouts and PK's and was not expecting them to win. However I was surprised that Zirkzee and Lindelof took shots before Garnacho and Obi. Zirkzee was clearly spent at that point, he wasn't the same player after adding 30 minutes. Meanwhile Garnacho and Obi are supposed to be goal scorers and they came on in the second half. Who knows if things would have gone differently, but I was really happy with how things turned out.

Fulham will host Palace on March 29. Glad I get at least one more match out of that ESPN+ subscription I purchased today!

(EDIT: I didn't realize until the third viewing that the Fulham fans were singing "He looks like a rat! He looks like a rat! Bruno Fernandez, he looks like a rat!" immediately before Pereira took the corner on Fulham's score! That's perfect)

 

Fulham's penalties were class on both sides of the ball, and in my mind, made up for not putting the match away. And I didn't have to listen long to the draw as Fulham were the first team drawn. "Anybody but City" echoed in my head as the opponent was announced...it wasn't City, and somehow I was gleeful for the draw to be a club that just kicked Fulham off the pitch a fortnight ago. But again, it's not City!!!
COYW!!!!