Perhaps there will still be Champagne bottles celebrating Manchester United’s 22nd FA Cup final appearance. But for fans, it will be bitter drops, as Erik ten Hag’s team must overcome a Championship opponent in a very unconvincing manner.

Hojlund’s decisive strike sends Manchester United into the FA Cup final.

In London, the Red Devils started everything off on the right foot against Coventry. Facing a significantly inferior opponent in terms of class and squad quality, the Premier League representatives easily led 2-0 in the first half.

In the 23rd minute, from Diogo Dalot’s cross from the right flank, Scott McTominay arrived right on time to slot the ball into the empty net. In first-half stoppage time, after a cross from Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire doubled the lead with a powerful header.

In this match, Manchester United didn’t have much good personnel preparation due to various injuries. Therefore, Ten Hag had to use players out of position to fit into the 4-2-3-1 formation. Kobbie Mainoo started on the left side of the central defensive area, while Casemiro had to drop back to play center-back.

But that didn’t mean Coventry could outperform their opponents tactically as they played with a deep-lying 5-defender formation. By the 58th minute, the score was already 3-0 for the Manchester giants after Bruno’s solo run inside the penalty box. For all the spectators, everything seemed settled. But in football, just when you think you’ve understood everything, there’s always something more to come.

Coventry had nothing but had something that Manchester United didn’t: patience and determination. Until the 70th minute, the Championship side managed to pull one back after a counter-attack from the right wing.

A splendid pass from Tavares and an unstoppable shot from Simms. Less than 10 minutes later, Manchester United started to tremble when O’Hare’s shot deflected off a red-shirted defender, redirecting the ball into the top corner of Onana’s goal.

Then it happened, the drama unfolded in stoppage time of the second half when Aaron Wan-Bissaka handled the ball inside the 18-yard box in an attempt to block. From the penalty spot, Haji Wright calmly leveled the score at 3-3. In the stands of Wembley, a series of high-ranking Man Utd officials were bewildered by what was happening. On the pitch, the red-shirted players stood perplexed before an unimaginable scenario.

Into extra time, both teams had significant goal-scoring opportunities despite the players’ decreasing fitness levels. In the last moments of the second half of extra time, Onana’s net shook again after some very slick attacks from Coventry’s forwards. While the League One players were still embracing in celebration, the referee consulted VAR and determined there was an offside situation by a few millimeters.

In the penalty shootout, despite Casemiro’s miss for Man Utd, O’Hare and Sheaf on the opposite side couldn’t handle the pressure. In the decisive penalty kick, Hojlund sent the Red Devils through to the final with a total score of 4-2 in the penalty shootout. After this kick, it’s worth noting that none of his teammates ran to celebrate with the Danish striker.

While captain Ben Sheaf burst into tears and was escorted off the field amidst applause from Coventry’s fans, Antony put his hands up to his ears in a mocking gesture towards the League One opponents. At that moment, former Man Utd legend Roy Keane said, “That’s not the Man Utd I like.”

So Manchester United have made it to the final against Manchester City. But this victory couldn’t satisfy their fans. Surely not!