Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot scores in opposition to Wigan Athletic within the fourth spherical of the FA Cup on January 8, 2024
| Picture Credit score: Reuters
Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes, with a penalty, secured a 2-0 win at Wigan Athletic within the FA Cup fourth spherical on a bitterly chilly evening at DW Stadium on Monday.
The victory over the third-tier facet was a welcome aid for the 12-time FA Cup winners, who’re out of Europe and the League Cup and languishing eighth within the Premier League.
“The FA Cup is all about profitable, it’s knockout. You need to end the job. That’s what I mentioned within the dressing room ‘job executed,'” United supervisor Erik ten Hag advised ITV.
United will subsequent go to the winners of the third spherical replay between League Two (fourth tier) Newport County and Nationwide League (fifth tier) Eastleigh F.C. within the fourth spherical.
Ten Hag’s facet comfortably averted an eighth defeat in 14 away matches in all competitions since final season’s FA Cup last, which they misplaced to neighbours Manchester Metropolis.
Dalot scored within the twenty second minute at Wigan when Marcus Rashford had a shot blocked earlier than laying the ball off to the Portuguese, who took a contact earlier than discovering the underside nook of the web from simply outdoors the 18-yard field.
“It gave us extra confidence,” Dalot mentioned. “We had been needing the objective so we could possibly be extra calm and never speeding to attain. We created lots and will have scored extra. It is what we missed right this moment.”
Fernandes doubled United’s lead within the 74th with a penalty after Liam Shaw caught the captain’s foot within the field.
United additionally wasted a bucket load of possibilities.
“Oh, positively (we should always have scored extra),” Ten Hag mentioned.
“Within the first half I feel we created 5 or 6 excellent possibilities. I feel it was excellent soccer. We must always have taken extra, however if you happen to do not rating you must keep targeted and I feel we did that tonight.”
Rashford briefly celebrated what he thought was a objective however keeper Sam Tickle dived to assemble the ball on the road.
Fellow ahead Rasmus Hojlund was left annoyed by a trio of near-misses earlier than halftime, whereas winger Alejandro Garnacho had a shot that ricocheted off the bar.
Former United captain Roy Keane mentioned he “can be fuming” with Hojlund if he was Ten Hag.
“They’re large possibilities. Cease messing about. Put the ball behind the web,” Keane mentioned on ITV.
Ten Hag’s facet had 33 photographs, 14 heading in the right direction, in comparison with Wigan’s 9. Rashford had eight makes an attempt, 4 heading in the right direction.
League One facet Wigan beat Manchester Metropolis at Wembley to win the 2013 FA Cup in one of many competitors’s main upsets. However they had been outplayed by United regardless of their greatest efforts.
“Pleased with my gamers,” Wigan supervisor Shaun Maloney mentioned. “Tough match, however an excellent expertise for our gamers.”
