Man Utd will be confident of Man City upset in FA Cup final thanks to two stars

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on the treble

Bruno Fernandes and David de Gea ensured Manchester United travel to Wembley for the FA Cup final in winning form after initiating a stirring fightback against Fulham. United’s goalkeeper saved a penalty to keep Erik ten Hag’s side from falling two goals behind after Kenny Tete had given Fulham the lead.

Yet it was an inspirational display from Fernandes which dragged United first level and his goal which gave them the three points. Erik ten Hag used his address to the crowd at the end of this final home game to first salute his keeper then to whip the crowd into a frenzy about the FA Cup.

And with this pair in this sort of form they will rightly feel they have a puncher’s chance under the Wembley arch. Defeat could not deny Fulham a top-half finish – their first since a ninth place in 2012 – and it has been a good season for the Cottagers.

For all that striker Aleksandar Mitrovic will take no fond memories from his visits to Old Trafford this season after adding a missed penalty to his FA Cup meltdown in March. Yesterday’s miss from the spot was less costly personally – he was fined £75,000 and banned for eight matches then – but no less damaging to Fulham’s chances given it would have doubled a lead before the half hour mark.

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The visitors had taken the lead from a corner, Tete heading in Willian’s corner with a glanced header at the near post after 19 minutes. And when Casemiro clipped Tom Cairney’s trailing leg seven minutes later, Mitrovic stepped up to erase his FA Cup nightmare only to make it worse, hitting his shot too close to De Gea at a very saveable height.

De Gea has a strangely poor record against penalties for a decent shot-stopper – yesterday’s save, low to his left, was only the eighth of 50 he has faced in his time at United. But the save energised Old Trafford instantly and before the half was up, United had turned overwhelming territorial possession into an equaliser.

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The move centred on a brilliant shift and turn from Fernandes who slipped the ball to Fred in the left channel, his bundled pass on clipped in by Sancho. Fulham could have been out of sight but instead went in fearing the worst.

And it duly arrived 10 minutes into the second half Fred producing the best pass of the match to pick out Fernandes and the Portugal international, finishing neatly over the advancing Bernd Leno. De Gea ensured the points and third place stayed with United with saves from Carlos Vinicius and Manor Solomon and Wout Weghorst that the goal difference stayed the same missing a golden chance in stoppage time.

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