FA Cup: Limping Man United Cruise To Next Stage

Manchester United progressed to the next stage of England’s oldest Cup competition as they returned 1-0 winners over Sheffield United on Saturday.

Louis van Gaal’s side were expected to stamp their authority over Sheffield with the match-day squad consisting of a host of regular first team players.

It should have been a one sided affair for the Red Devils, but a hard fought 1-0 victory left the disgruntled. United weren’t much of a threat up front after failing to convert their dominance of possession into goals.

The first half was truly a drab affair compared to what United are usually known for, although having goalless draws have somewhat become United’s specialty in recent times.

The home side continued their lack of attacking edge in the second half as well, and LVG also refused to introduce new players at the interval.

Aimless crosses into the 18-yard-area were the order of the day for the Red Devils as they tried to break the deadlock on a number of occasions.

In a bid to reinforce his attacking trio, Van Gaal finally brought Depay and Jesse Lingard into the fray, and the pair seemed to have given a new dimension to the proceeding by creating some chances upfront.

Depay most especially created a couple of decent chances for himself but failed to capitalize on any of them.

Sheffield’s Chris Basham gave the game it’s first shot on goal few minutes later, but it flew into the waiting hands of De Gea.

The 82nd minute saw Schweinsteiger get into a tussle with Basham and with all three United substitutes already used up, the German midfield maestro had to continue the game in pain.

Depay, who was United’s best player of the night, was brought down in the third minute of stoppage time which resulted to a spot kick.

Rooney stepped up to take the Penalty and converted the same with much ease and control, a feat that shattered visitor’s hopes of a replay at Braman Lane.

The Victory saw a limping Manchester United progress into the fourth round of the competition but following their unconvincing performance against Sheffield United it’s safe to say that the Red Devils clearly lack what it takes to win the FA Cup.