- Fellaini bests former club
- De Gea stops penalty
- Smalling o.g. in 75th
- Martial scores late winner
Anthony Martial’s dramatic winner in the third minute of stoppage time lifted Manchester United into the FA Cup final with a 2-1 win over Everton at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
[ WATCH: The match-winning goal ]
Man of the Match certainty Marouane Fellaini had scored for United, but Chris Smalling had an own goal to level things for Everton before the late dramatics.
The final is May 21, and United’s opponent will be either Crystal Palace or Watford, who play their semifinal on Sunday.
[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ]
Both sides had big chances early, as Anthony Martial couldn’t convert for United and Wayne Rooney cleared Romelu Lukaku’s chipped effort off the line with a clutch header.
Joel Robles made a strong stop on Jesse Lingard after Rooney looped him through on goal, and there was plenty of Wembley entertainment early on.
[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]2 - Marouane Fellaini has scored 2 goals in 5 FA Cup apps this season; double the amount he’s scored in the league (1 in 17 apps). Occasion.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 23, 2016
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
The Red Devils continued to pressure, and Fellaini headed back to the spot for Martial. The Frenchman’s shot was stopped by Robles.
And Fellaini’s strong performance was rewarded with a goal against his former side. The big man was on the business end of Martial’s cutback, and it was 1-0.
The second half saw Everton begin with plenty of life, and Ross Barkley won a penalty after Timothy Fosu-Mensah tangled with him in the box.
Lukaku stepped up to face David De Gea... and was denied by the Spanish keeper.
The 65th minute saw Fellaini so close to putting his own rebound past De Gea, but a sliding Phil Jagielka stopped the goal with his hand. Jagielka was falling to the turf, which must’ve obscured the vision of officials.
The Toffees’ second half buzzing paid off when substitute Gerard Deulofeu’s cross was turned into goal by United’s Smalling. All was square with 15 minutes to play.
Both Deulofeu and Lukaku had chances soon after, with De Gea stopping the Spaniard and watching the Belgian head wide of the frame.
A lightning counter from Everton was thwarted by Fellaini, who slid onto the ball to stop Lukaku yards away from the United goal.
Louis van Gaal removed Fellaini with minutes to play regulation, which was a bizarre move given the havoc wreaked by the midfielder. Ander Herrera replaced him, and took a yellow card almost immediately.
But how inspired that substitution would look when Herrera swept under Jagielka to push a ball to Martial for his stoppage time winner?
Very.
