Manchester United have settled for a semi-final fixture against Brighton Albion in the Emirates FA Cup after beating Fulham 3-1 at home in front of the Old Trafford crowd.
Erik Ten Hag's side will travel to Wembley Stadium in April as they seek to covet their second trophy this season. Bruno Fernandes' double and Marcel Sabitzer's first goal since joining the Red Devils on loan from Bayern Munich in January, plus three red cards for Fulham's team, gave the Red Devils a convincing win on Sunday afternoon.
Roberto De Zerbi's side saw off League Two side Grimsby Town at Ammex Stadium on Thursday afternoon, with Brighton Albion winning with a 5-0 scoreline. Denis Undav scored the opener for Roberto De Zerbi's side before youngster Evan Ferguson scored a brace to extend the Seagulls' lead. Kaoru Mitoma and Solly March both got on the scoresheet, and the Premier League side were able to avoid any form of upset in front of their fans.
That sets the two Premier League clubs against each other in the semi-finals of the competition. Since losing the replay of the Emirates FA Cup final to the Red Devils in 1983, this is the closest the Seagulls have come to winning the competition. However, the Seagulls' head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, has alleged that his side will not be making up numbers in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Brighton Albion can be confident heading into the tie as they have beaten the Red Devils on their home turf at Old Trafford this season on match day one of the 2022-2023 Premier League campaign. They inflicted a 2-1 loss on Erik Ten Hag's men, which is their only home loss in the league since then. They have as well made progress in the Premier League as they are 6th on the Premier League table.
Roberto De Zerbi emphasized that his side will not be visiting Wembley Stadium as "tourists," while explaining he has told his men to work on their passions.
"We started well with the goal, and then we could have been better," said De Zerbi at fulltime after his side beat Grimsby Town. "But I know it's difficult when you come up against a lower-league team to not be focused 100 percent."
"But the performance of the second half was a lot better." At halftime, I told the players to "play with more passion, attitude, and strength."
"We want to arrive at Wembley in the best position, not as tourists."
Manchester City have also gotten a tie against Sheffield United in another Semi Final tie.
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