Playing with one less man, Man Utd still eliminated Arsenal in FA Cup

"Justice", Man Utd wrote briefly on social networksXat the end of the game.

The visitors were furious with referee Andrew Madley's decisions during the match, and striker Kai Havertz's diving for a penalty. But despite playing with one less man for the final 30 minutes of the second half and 30 minutes of extra time, the "Red Devils" still dragged Arsenal to a penalty shootout. There, Havertz's own penalty was saved by goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, causing the home team to lose and be eliminated.

Havertz is currently Arsenal's highest paid player, earning around $335,000 a week, but missed two big chances in the match, before becoming the "sinner" in the shootout. Bayindir was Man Utd's hero despite only being the second goalkeeper, starting in place of Andre Onana. The Turkish goalkeeper made six saves, including a diving save to deflect Martin Odegaard's penalty kick.

The decisive moment of the match also took place between Havertz and Bayindir, in the second penalty shootout. From the moment he stood in front of the ball, the German striker was booed by the away team's audience. He stopped running, saw Bayindir's center of gravity shift to the left, so he shot to the right corner. However, the 27-year-old goalkeeper still dived in the right direction, reaching out to block the ball.

Bayindir's colleague, goalkeeper David Raya, failed to save any of United's penalties, and even failed to get the shot right once. The Spaniard tended to dive too early, but five of the visitors' players all shot in the opposite direction and scored. Joshua Zirkzee's final penalty secured an unlikely victory for United, especially considering they were down a man away to title contenders Arsenal.

This is Man Utd's first win at the Emirates since January 2019, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ruben Amorim's team also continued to perform well against a giant, after a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League, also away.

This time, the "Red Devils" believe they were disadvantaged by many decisions made by referee Madley. In the first half, midfielder Bruno Fernandes was fouled from behind by Gabriel Jesus on the edge of the penalty area, but the referee did not blow the whistle. The Man Utd goalkeeper threw his boots in frustration and received a yellow card for his reaction. VAR only appeared in the FA Cup from the 5th round, so all decisions made by the referee on the field will not change in this match.

The Man Utd captain has received two red cards in the first half of the season, so many fans were worried he would be sent off again. However, Fernandes was relieved to open the scoring early in the second half. Centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes headed the ball in the middle of the pitch, which hit Alejandro Garnacho, then slipped. The Argentine striker quickly got down and passed it to Fernandes, who curled it into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Thousands of Man Utd fans behind the Arsenal goal exploded, jumping up and throwing paper cups to celebrate the goal. The Portuguese midfielder also kicked a billboard to vent his anger.

Fernandes did not receive a red card, but another Portuguese player, Diogo Dalot, could not keep his cool. In just 12 minutes, the 26-year-old defender received two consecutive yellow cards for dangerous tackles, and was sent off in the 61st minute. This time, it was the turn of tens of thousands of home fans to celebrate the advantage.

Arsenal were also boosted by that, equalising after just two minutes. Centre-back Magalhaes made up for his mistake with a turn in the penalty area, which grazed Matthijs de Ligt's foot and changed direction, leaving goalkeeper Altay Bayindir rooted to the spot as the ball rolled into the net.

The nightmare continued to hit Man Utd when referee Madley awarded a penalty to Arsenal in the 69th minute, after Harry Maguire raised his hand to block Kai Havertz in the penalty area. The England midfielder reacted strongly, then seemed to imply that the German striker was diving, causing players from both sides to fight. "It was clear that Havertz was pretending to dive," British newspaperGuardiancomment.

During the scuffle, Havertz dived again when confronted by midfielder Manuel Ugarte. Maguire rushed over and berated Arsenal's highest-paid striker. The away fans could feel justice being served, as Martin Odegaard's low penalty shot towards the right corner was saved by goalkeeper Bayindir diving.

Bayindir is only Man Utd's second-choice goalkeeper, but he is the main goalkeeper in domestic cups. Having made a mistake that led to Man Utd being eliminated by Tottenham in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, the Turkish goalkeeper has improved at the Emirates. He also parried a close-range header from midfielder Declan Rice in the second half, helping Man Utd survive into extra time, where Maguire, De Ligt and Bayindir all made multiple saves to send the match into a penalty shootout.

Arsenal can blame themselves for squandering a series of chances to decide the match before the shootout. The expected goals for this match were 3.87-0.33 in favor of the home team. That means if they had taken advantage of their chances as usual, the Gunners could have won around 4-1. "It's unbelievable, because Arsenal deserved to win this match," coach Mikel Arteta said after the match.

This defeat means Arsenal are out of the first competition of the 2024-2025 season, while they are also at high risk of stopping in the semi-finals of the League Cup. Meanwhile, Man Utd are in the fourth round and will reunite with coach Ruud van Nistelrooy at Old Trafford, when they host Leicester City.