The FA Cup victory over nine-men Fulham, according to Manchester United legend Roy Keane, covered up some emerging cracks in Erik ten Hag’s side..
United earned a Wembley semi-final against Brighton with a comeback victory at Old Trafford, but only after Fulham conceded a penalty, conceded two goals, and had two players and the manager sent off in a five-minute span.
Aleksandar Mitrovic headed home in the second half to put the Cottagers ahead. However, after a VAR review, Willian was sent off for tripping Jadon Sancho’s effort on the line, with visiting manager Marco Silva and goalscorer Mitrovic being dismissed for their protests.
Bruno Fernandes scored from the spot, and Marcel Sabitzer put United ahead moments later. Fernandes added a late third to the scoreline, but Keane was concerned by United’s lackluster performance.
The former Manchester United midfielder, who is now an ITV pundit, believes the club’s recent performances have been subpar and predicts defeat against Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final.
“I’ve lost that little bit of confidence watching them,” the Irishman admitted. “You might have thought a month or two ago, ‘yeah, they’re up for it,’ but the last few games I’ve seen they have a real habit – and I think it’s okay to play in moments every now and then – but that seems to be the case.”
They’ve developed some bad habits, and they showed up today thinking, ‘We have quality players, and we’re going to win football games.’ If they show up for the semi-finals with that attitude, Brighton will beat them. It could be a kick up the backside for United.”
Despite a poor performance against Fulham and disappointing results in their last two Premier League games, United remain in pole position to finish in the top four and could add the FA Cup and Europa League to their Carabao Cup victory earlier this season..
Brighton will be a tough test at Wembley in the last four, with United playing away from Old Trafford for the first time this season after four consecutive home matches. And Keane believes that luck has been on Ten Hag’s side this season in the FA Cup.
“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” he added. “The home draws aided them. Cup competitions require a bit of luck, and United have certainly had their fair share this season.
“Obviously in the FA Cup the priority is getting to the next round but United, I still think their manager will be hugely disappointed with what he saw. Fulham, of course, self-destructed, but United were so bad it was unbelievable.”
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