Why David De Gea was checking his towels during the penalty shootout against Brighton at Wembley

Fans wondered what David De Gea was doing when they saw him examining his towel between penalties in Manchester United's FA Cup semifinal match against Brighton.

Those with keen eyes could make out a piece of paper concealed within the Spaniard's towel, which he appeared to be perusing before each penalty during their shootout.

Ultimately, Solly March saved the day by putting his penalty attempt over the crossbar. Victor Lindelof then completed the feat, sending United on to the final, where they will take on Manchester United.

De Gea may have been reading something throughout the shootout, but history suggests it was probably information on Brighton's penalty takers.

In 2021, when United lost 11-10 on penalties to Villarreal in the Europa League final, the 32-year-old reportedly did something similar, according to Sky Sports journalist Angelo Mangiante.

He was unable to block any penalties on that occasion, but after a brilliant display in goal at Wembley, the Red Devils shot-stopper will receive all the praise this time around.

After a 0-0 draw at Wembley, Manchester United defeated Brighton 7-6 on penalties to advance to the first-ever all-Manchester FA Cup final against Manchester City.

The first-ever FA Cup semi-final shootout, which involved Victor Lindelof, went to sudden death after Solly March's missed penalty kick proved to be the deciding factor.

On a day when both goalkeepers displayed inspired shot-stopping form, Brighton had the better opportunities throughout the 120 minutes of regulation time and extra time. Kaoru Mitoma and March both came close with brilliant solo efforts during the latter, but ultimately there was no separating the teams.

Both Sanchez and David de Gea, who atoned for his horrifying performance against Sevilla(opens in new tab) three days before, made five stops to keep their respective teams in the running for the championship.

After a series of extraordinarily good penalty kicks in a sudden downpour, Erik ten Hag's United maintained their composure to secure a return trip to Wembley, where they defeated Newcastle to win the Carabao Cup back in February.

On Saturday, June 3, the FA Cup final, which ends the English domestic campaign, will take place.

During the semi-finals, BBC analysts Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer both called for a reform to the FA Cup rules. At Wembley, Manchester United and Brighton competed for a spot in the championship game, while Manchester City and Sheffield United faced criticism for their lack of fan support on Saturday.

The competition's semifinal matches as well as the championship game have been held at the stadium since the new Wembley opened in 2007. The final four had previously played at venues like Old Trafford and Villa Park, with a trip to the sacred field at Wembley as the reward.

But as grievances over northerners being forced to travel to London on a costly day for Manchester City and Sheffield United mounted, the subject of whether Wembley should only be used for the final arose once more.

Lineker brought up the subject and acknowledged that he believes the rule needs to be modified.

"The one thing I noticed there [during Manchester City vs Sheffield United] though was the amount of empty seats here at Wembley," he said during the BBC's coverage of United vs Brighton.

"I think official attendance was just under 70,000 - it didn’t quite look like that, but that’s the bit that’s normally more empty than others. Is it perhaps time when you’ve got two northern teams to have a little bit of a rethink in sending everyone down for the semi-finals?"

Shearer then agreed with the host and believed that "common sense" should have seen City and Sheffield United play further north. "When you look at schedules that both teams have had, Man City have travelled everywhere and what Sheffield United are doing in terms of promotion, it’s pretty understandable," he said. "I agree, for me it’s common sense to have maybe taken it up to a northern ground yesterday."

While former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was in agreement with his colleagues. "It’s a difficult one. It’s expensive - very, very expensive to attend a football match, and I think this is more expensive than normal," he added.

"We’ve got inflation - high inflation - energy prices, people just can’t afford that. That’s maybe where you should go in and have a think about what’s important."

Then ex-Brighton striker Glenn Murray added: "When you’re thinking about bringing a couple of kids and the family, it’s an expensive day out, isn’t it?"