Nigeria’s Calvin Bassey’s Fulham eliminate United from FA Cup

Manchester United’s FA Cup title defense came to an end on Saturday as they suffered a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Fulham at Old Trafford.

The match ended 1-1 after extra time, with Bruno Fernandes scoring a late equalizer to cancel out Calvin Bassey’s first-half opener.

Bassey’s goal came from a well-worked set piece, with Andreas Pereira’s out-swinging corner being flicked on by Rodrigo Muniz.

United had started the match well, with some possession but few clear-cut chances.

The first real opportunity fell to Fernandes, who fired a shot straight at Bernd Leno.

Christian Eriksen also had a chance, but his effort was parried away by Leno.

As the match wore on, Fulham began to create more opportunities, with Matthijs de Ligt giving the ball away and Manuel Ugarte bringing down Andreas Pereira.

Ugarte was booked for the foul, and Sasa Lukic’s resulting free-kick was fired into the wall.

In the second half, United brought on Alejandro Garnacho and Victor Lindelof, but it was Fulham who continued to create chances.

Emile Smith-Rowe fired an effort that Andre Onana saved well, and Raul Jiminez had a late chance in extra time.

United finally found an equalizer in the 74th minute, with Fernandes firing home a great finish into the bottom left-hand corner.

The goal was set up by some good play from Garnacho, who played in Dalot before he found Fernandes with a ball across the area.

The match went to extra time, where United had several chances to win it. Garnacho had a shot saved by Leno, and Casemiro fired a curling effort wide of the post.

In the penalty shootout, United’s Joshua Zirkzee and Victor Lindelof failed to convert their spot-kicks, allowing Fulham to secure a 4-3 victory and progress to the quarterfinals.

Nigeria’s Calvin Bassey was rock solid in central defence for Fulham.

The defeat marks a disappointing exit from the competition for United, who had been seeking to win the FA Cup for a second consecutive season.

Manager Ruben Amorim will face questions about his team’s performance, particularly in the first half, where they struggled to create scoring opportunities.

Quarter final matchups

The FA Cup quarter-final draw has been announced, and it’s set to be an exciting round of matches.

-Fulham vs. Crystal Palace: Fulham, fresh from their penalty shootout win over Manchester United, will host Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage.

-Preston North End vs. Aston Villa: Preston, the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, will face Aston Villa at Deepdale.

-AFC Bournemouth vs. Manchester City: Bournemouth will host Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium, looking to cause an upset against the Premier League giants.

-Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Nottingham Forest or Ipswich Town: Brighton will face either Nottingham Forest or Ipswich Town, who play each other on Monday night, at the Amex Stadium.

The quarter-final matches will take place across the weekend of March 29/30, with the winning clubs collecting £450,000 from the competition prize fund.

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