Wout Weghorst has revealed what actually happened after he scored his penalty at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final penalty shootout against Brighton last weekend.
The Dutchman has experienced a mixed three months at Manchester United since he joined the club on a six-month loan as he is now spending some time on the sidelines for the first time.
Weghorst started all of the first 19 games United played after he had put pen to paper on a half-season deal but after Anthony Martial’s return from injury, the former Bundesliga star has failed to start a game.
Instead, he has been restricted to appearances off the bench and that was his role at Wembley, replacing Martial as the two sides continued to cancel each other out.
Weghorst was not named as one of the first five players to take a penalty when it came down to it but he stepped up to take United’s sixth spot-kick, making no mistake from 12 yards.
Both teams had scored all of their penalties and that point and as Weghorst made his way back to his team-mates, he kissed the ball before handing it to Brighton’s Solly March.
Now, Weghorst has revealed what he told March in that exchange just before the Brighton star blazed the ball over the bar and gave Victor Lindelof the chance to send United through to the final.
“I already said to do it before we started, to some of our guys but nobody did it. I scored, saw the ball and tried to get a few advantages to maybe help us win it,” he told Sporting News.
“I walked to him and said some things but at the end, I went to him because I felt sorry because that was the one that missed. I just tried everything and normally it doesn’t make a difference but maybe it did.”
United will now face cross-city rivals Manchester City in the final on June 3rd, which will be the first Manchester derby in a major cup final.
Erik ten Hag will hope to have a number of first-team regulars back by that time, with Raphael Varane among those to be facing an anxious wait.
Alejandro Garnacho is also waiting for his return to the pitch after he sustained a serious ankle injury in the 0-0 draw with Southampton last month.
