Manchester United have booked their spot in the semi-finals of the FA Cup courtesy of a 3-1 victory over nine-man Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Aleksandar Mitrovic sent Fulham ahead in the 50th minute of the contest, but Man United were level from the penalty spot in the 75th minute, with Bruno Fernandes converting after a string of incidents.
Willian was sent off for handling Jadon Sancho's effort in the penalty incident, before Mitrovic was handed a straight red card for shoving referee Chris Kavanagh after the decision to award the spot kick had been made.
Fulham also lost their manager Marco Silva to a red card during a chaotic period, and Man United scored a second shortly after through Marcel Sabitzer before Fernandes netted his second late on to ensure that the hosts would join Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester City and Sheffield United in the final four of the competition.
Man United will take on Brighton in the semi-finals, while Fulham will be left to ponder what might have been, with Mitrovic's antics at 1-0 to the visitors costing his side badly at Old Trafford.
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Fulham had a half-chance inside the first minute when Mitrovic delivered a dangerous cross towards Andreas Pereira, but Scott McTominay did well to clear ahead of his former Man United teammate.
Red Devils goalkeeper David de Gea then had to tip a header from Issa Diop over the crossbar in the third minute, with the visitors making a fast start to the contest at Old Trafford.
Fulham wanted a penalty from the resulting corner, with Luke Shaw easing Mitrovic off the ball, but the referee was not interested, and VAR agreed with the on-field decision.
Willian then struck wide of the home side's goal in the eighth minute after smart work from Mitrovic, who had gathered the ball before playing it back to his teammate just outside the penalty box.
Wout Weghorst had Man United's first attempt on target in the 12th minute, with the Netherlands international firing one into the gloves of Bernd Leno after smart work from Marcus Rashford down the left.
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Harrison Reed then failed to make the most of a brilliant opportunity down the other end, with the midfielder having a low cross blocked after finding himself free inside the Man United box, before there were no takers on a wonderful Tim Ream cross from the left.
Weghorst had another opportunity down the other end in the 24th minute when Rashford delivered a stunning cross into the Fulham box, but the striker just could not reach and make contact.
Mitrovic had another shout for a penalty in the 26th minute when he went down inside the box under a challenge from Lisandro Martinez, but play was allowed to continue.
Fulham's number nine continued to look a threat, and he headed over the Man United crossbar in the 32nd minute, before Rashford was denied by Leno down the other end, with the two teams still level at Old Trafford heading towards the final 10 minutes of the first period.
Sabitzer tested Leno with a powerful effort in the 40th minute, before Kenny Tete struck just wide of the Man United goal in the closing stages of the first half.
There was time for one more opportunity before the end of the first period, with McTominay having a shot deflected behind for a corner, which was cleared by the visitors.
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De Gea made a brilliant save to keep out an effort from Antonee Robinson early in the second period, before Willian brought an even better stop from Man United's goalkeeper moments later, with Fulham continuing to look dangerous down the home side's right.
The visitors did take the lead in the 50th minute, though, when the dangerous Mitrovic converted from close range after Diop had flicked a Pereira corner into a dangerous area at the back post.
Fernandes had one deflected just wide of the Fulham post in the 54th minute after being found by Rashford, with Man United looking to launch a fast response at Old Trafford.
De Gea had to keep out another header from Mitrovic in the 64th minute, before the two players again went head-to-head two minutes later, with the goalkeeper flying across his goal to make the stop.
Sancho had a strike deflected wide of the Fulham goal in the 68th minute, before the attacker had one cleared off the line by Willian following a fast counter-attack.
A VAR check showed that Willian had used his hand, though, with the referee going across to the monitor before awarding a penalty.
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Fulham lost their heads, with Willian handed a straight red card for the handball, before Mitrovic was sent off for pointing his finger in the referee's face and then shoving him.
Cottagers head coach Silva had also been sent off for his conduct when the referee was checking the monitor, with the visitors receiving three red cards in quick succession, and it was then up to Fernandes to attempt to level the scores.
The Portugal international found the back of the net with his spot kick to make it 1-1, and Man United were left needing one more against nine men to advance to the final four of the competition.
Sabitzer then made it 2-1 in the 77th minute, with the on-loan Bayern Munich midfielder converting from close range with an excellent flick after Shaw had picked out his teammate inside the box.
Leno kept out a late effort from Sabitzer, before Antony just failed to convert after dancing into the Fulham box, but the Red Devils scored a third late on through Fernandes, and it was a comfortable finish for the hosts due to their two-man advantage, with Ten Hag's side advancing to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Next up for Man United is a trip to top-four rivals Newcastle United in the Premier League on April 2, while Fulham will continue their league season away to Bournemouth on April 1.
Matt Law
