Manchester United comfortably booked their spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic this evening.
Goals from Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes in either half were enough for the Red Devils to cruise past the League One opposition and progress in the competition, where they’ll face Eastleigh or Newport County in the next round later this month.
If it weren’t for the two goalscorers, there’d certainly be some questions asked of Rasmus Hojlund and Scott McTominay, who both sent numerous chances astray between them across the tie.
Alas, their captain was there to seal the win when he converted the spot-kick that he won in the 73rd minute. Fernandes received the ball in the box before cleverly cutting inside and being fouled by Liam Shaw. He went down – albeit theatrically – and was awarded the penalty after a moment of deliberation from the referee.
Keane’s praise for Fernandes
When analysing the passage of play in the ITV studio post-match, United legend Roy Keane praised Fernandes for his decision-making to go down after feeling Shaw’s sliding tackle.
“It’s clever play… it’s clever play for me. I think it’s a penalty. There’s no doubt [that] he’d put it in the back of the net and maybe because it’s Bruno, people will criticise it, but he gets caught. It’s a smart play, you see the defender, stay on your feet… he [Shaw] dives in, he catches him [Fernandes],” Keane said alongside Ian Wright and Roberto Martinez.
He continued: “Particularly because of the way he goes down… [there’s a] slight delay, but he gets caught.”
"It's clever."
Was it right to award Man Utd a penalty? #ITVFootball | #WIGMUN pic.twitter.com/NIDXtL9NEw
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) January 8, 2024
Footage courtesy of ITV.
