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\u201cIt\u2019s better to be lucky than good sometimes,\u201d was Roy Keane\u2019s verdict on Manchester United\u2019s 3-1 comeback victory against Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-finals.<\/strong><\/p>\n Having clocked up over almost 500 appearances and captained the club during the most successful period in the club\u2019s history, it\u2019s safe to say Keane knows a thing or two about how to win.<\/p>\n The 51-year-old, speaking as a pundit on ITV, stressed that United will need to perform better if they\u2019re to make it past Brighton in the semi-final at Wembley in April.<\/p>\n But he also recognised the importance, in a knockout game, of Just Getting It Done. He\u2019ll be the first to admit that Sir Alex Ferguson\u2019s side weren\u2019t always brilliant. But when they weren\u2019t, they invariably did enough to win matches.<\/p>\n Having ended their six-year wait for silverware with a routine 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the League Cup final at Wembley that looked straight out of the Keane and Ferguson glory days, Erik ten Hag\u2019s side look unrecognisable to the side that finished with a record low Premier League points tally last term.<\/p>\n That was a major step forward for the club, but the following weekend\u2019s historic 7-0 defeat to an ailing Liverpool was a reality check that this project remains a work in progress. Casemiro\u2019s subsequent red card and two dropped points against Southampton were a reminder there\u2019s still work to do to finish in the top four.<\/p>\n The blip looked in danger of turning into a wobble as this season\u2019s surprise package Fulham deservedly led 1-0 on the hour mark in the quarter-final at Old Trafford. In the absence of Casemiro, it was the visitors\u2019 Portuguese-speaking midfield powerhouse Joao Palhinha that dominated in the centre of the park.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were clearly<\/em> the best team on the pitch,\u201d stressed Marco Silva in his post-match interview. That might sound like sour grapes after being denied a famous cup victory, but he had a point. Fulham were good value for their lead and didn\u2019t look too troubled as United went in search of an equaliser.<\/p>\n “Up until the red card we were CLEARLY the best team on the pitch!”<\/p>\n Marco Silva gives his honest response to Fulham’s meltdown at Old Trafford today\u2026 \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f @gabrielclarke05<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/fcaURhBvwa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That was until United sprang into action with a dangerous break. Willian scrambled back to stick his body in the way of Jadon Sancho\u2019s goalbound shot.<\/p>\n It looked as though the veteran Brazilian winger had pulled off an inspired defensive block, but replays soon revealed that United\u2019s appeals for handball weren\u2019t spurious. It became clear that VAR would intervene to give United a penalty and reduce Fulham to 10 men.<\/p>\n Or nine, so incensed was Aleksandar Mitrovic that he accosted referee Chris Kavanagh and subsequently received the red card that was just shown to Willian. Surprisingly, this was the imposing Serbian striker\u2019s first straight red card at Fulham and first since 2016. He\u2019s mellowed in recent years but the old red mist descended here.<\/p>\n Nine men without a coach, because Marco Silva also lost his head on the touchline and talked himself into a dismissal.<\/p>\n Their frustration was understandable. They\u2019d done everything right for over an hour. The perfectly-executed gameplan, in which Mitrovic did his job by slamming home the opener. And then in one fell swoop, everything had been undone.<\/p>\n ABSOLUTE SCENES AT OLD TRAFFORD!! \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n Tempers are flaring as Fulham go from 1-0 up to conceding a penalty and going down to 9-men\u2026 \ud83e\udd2f#ITVFootball<\/a> | @EmiratesFACup<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6vWTYNgRGT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 19, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile, the hosts kept their head in the game, professionally stuck to their task and needed just two minutes to score another past the nine-men visitors. From there, their progression to the semis felt like an inevitability.<\/p>\n Bruno Fernandes\u2019 second goal, deep into injury time, added the gloss. It\u2019s been four home ties in the FA Cup this season and four 3-1 wins. They also came from behind in the last round, and in the round before that made Andy Carroll lose his cool.<\/p>\n \u201cWe showed great character. Every time this team comes out, they show the personality and the determination needed,\u201d Ten Hag told the BBC.<\/p>\n \u201cFulham are a good team and you have to be good to overcome them.\u201d<\/p>\n The win was United\u2019s 32nd of the season. No side in Europe has more<\/a>. They remain on track to play every possible game this season and could yet end 2022-23 with three pieces of silverware. Ten Hag\u2019s side also look well-placed to achieve their primary objective of getting back into the Champions League.<\/p>\n That all sounds like the Manchester United we\u2019ve come to know in the Premier League era.<\/p>\n But the real evidence that they\u2019re back is having the nous to get a win when they\u2019re not at the best, all the while breaking the brains of their opponents. Straight out of the Fergie era.<\/p>\n READ NEXT:\u00a0Breaking down Man Utd\u2019s remarkable run of being televised in the FA Cup<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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