FA Cup holders Manchester United were knocked out of the competition on penalties by Fulham after Bernd Leno saved from Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee.
Following an uninspiring opening period, Calvin Bassey headed in at the far post from a corner to give Fulham the lead on the stroke of half-time.
With United looking for inspiration, Alejandro Garnacho, who started on the bench, was brought on after 53 minutes — he was told in midweek to pay for a team meal as punishment for walking down the tunnel when substituted against Ipswich.
Andre Onana saved a decent Emile Smith Rowe shot just after the hour mark but United finally drew level when Bruno Fernandes swept in a cross from Diogo Dalot with 19 minutes remaining. Onana pushed another Smith Rowe attempt round the post in second-half stoppage time, then, in extra time, Garnacho was denied by Leno when one-on-one.
Substitute forward Chido Obi, 17, made an impression off the bench, with Leno producing a fine save to deny him the winning goal before the game went to penalties.
Fernandes, Dalot and Casemiro scored United’s first three penalties, and Raul Jimenez, Sander Berge and Willian did likewise for Fulham.
Leno then saved from Lindelof and USMNT international Antonee Robinson rolled Fulham 4-3 ahead, before Leno saved again from Zirkzee to knock United out.
It was winning the FA Cup in May that helped Erik ten Hag keep his job in the summer but his replacement Ruben Amorim is now out of that competition and his side are 14th in the Premier League. The Europa League, where they face Real Sociedad in the first leg of the last 16, is now their last hope of success.
The Athletic’s Oliver Kay, Carl Anka and Conor O’Neill analyse the key talking points.
What does this mean for Amorim’s United?
Where do Manchester United go from here? The immediate answer is San Sebastian, for a Europa League tie on Thursday, but this was another setback for Ruben Amorim and a team who lie 14th in the Premier League and will have to beat Real Sociedad over two legs if they are to keep their season alive beyond the second week of March.
This, against a more reliably accomplished Fulham side, ended up being one of United’s more uplifting performances since Amorim took charge in November. But Fulham competed well throughout and their players held their nerve in the penalty shoot-out, whereas United saw Lindelof and Zirkzee thwarted by Leno.
United’s season was never going to be judged on whether they won the FA Cup (the board made that mistake after winning it last season). But a fifth-round defeat, albeit on penalties, is another blow to their hopes of finding some encouragement from a campaign that has brought so many lows.
Oliver Kay
FA Cup quarter-final draw
Fulham v Crystal Palace Preston v Aston Villa Bournemouth v Manchester City
Brighton v Nottingham Forest or Ipswich
What happened in the shootout?
For the nerves of United fans, these FA Cup penalty shootouts are becoming uncomfortably familiar — this was their fifth since the fourth-round loss to Middlesbrough in 2021-22, and their second of this season’s edition. After winning their last four, their luck finally ran out.
As in the win over Arsenal, captain Fernandes won both coin-tosses and once again chose for United to go first. He then stepped up for the opening penalty, coolly dispatching it to the bottom left corner, sending Leno the wrong way.
Raul Jimenez’s response for Fulham was almost a carbon copy, calmly placing his spot kick into the same corner. Dalot then went to the right, but again Leno guessed wrong.
Berge followed with a stunning top-corner strike, arguably the highlight of the shootout. Casemiro then matched him with another powerfully struck effort, before Willian — who rejoined Fulham in January — calmly wrong-footed Onana. The score stood at 3-3 after six high-quality penalties.
Things then went awry for United. Leno easily saved Lindelof’s weak effort, which was directed to the keeper’s right but lacked placement and power. Robinson coolly capitalised for Fulham, continuing his impressive season for Marco Silva’s side.
The pressure then fell on Zirkzee — he missed, and United were out. His tame effort mirrored Lindelof’s but was placed to the keeper’s right instead, with Leno comfortably saving, sending United out of the competition.
Conor O’Neill
Why were United fans protesting against Ratcliffe and the Glazers?
An hour before kick-off, a large group of United and Fulham fans gathered outside Old Trafford to protest against the recent wave of ticket price hikes by both clubs.
Away tickets for Premier League matches are capped at £30 ($38), but with this being an FA Cup tie, seats were priced at £61 and £52 for Fulham fans. Football Supporters Association chair Tom Greatrex, a Fulham fan, warned that fans’ loyalty is being exploited.
Fulham supporters have protested against ticket prices at Craven Cottage this season, amid concerns that long-serving fans will be priced out to accommodate “tourists” who are willing to pay more for one-off visits.
United fans’ dissent towards the Glazer family is deeper-rooted, but relations have deteriorated further since November, when the club increased member (non-season-ticket) prices from £40 to £66 and removed concession prices for the rest of the season. The first half played out to chants of “£66, you’re taking the p***” among less polite messages directed at the Glazers and minority investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Oliver Kay
How important is Dalot’s workrate?
“What’s happened to Diogo Dalot?” is a repeated question in The Athletic comment section as of late. The 25-year-old has found it difficult to follow up his work from last season, which saw him named player of the season by his team-mates.
A simple (and partial) explanation for Dalot’s recent form is that of fatigue. If the Portugal international isn’t playing at the same level he did last season, that’s because he’s played an astonishing amount of football recently.
Numbers taken prior to kick-off against Fulham have Dalot as the second-most used player in the United squad since the start of 2023-24. Even the talismanic Bruno Fernandes has played fewer minutes than Dalot.
Be it under Ten Hag, Ruud van Nistelrooy or Amorim, Dalot has been there, trying his best. He’s played at left-back, he’s played at right-back, he’s played at wing-back on both flanks. Sometimes he’s been asked to make overlapping runs for the forward ahead of him, sometimes he has to focus on underlapping runs. There have been matches where he has to invert into midfield to help protect against counter-attacks and matches where he’s needed to supply width and whip in crosses.
It’s a lot of jobs to undertake, and Dalot’s attempts to do it all often manifests with erratic results. The quality of his crossing regularly oscillates, but when he managed to barrel down the left wing 19 minutes from time, he managed to get a solid cut back for Fernandes.
The captain’s finish was superb, a guided left-footed finish into the bottom corner that gave United a much-needed equaliser and foothold in the game. Dalot’s cross didn’t put the goal on a plate for his captain, but it was the sort of solid football he tries his very hardest to supply for his team on a weekly basis.
Rasmus Hojlund has taken to calling Dalot “Mini-Cristiano” such is his teammate’s ultra-professional approach to recovery and fitness. Dalot wants to play for United. He’ll likely play every remaining game between now and the end of the season.
Carl Anka
How long is it since Hojlund scored?
Make that 18 appearances without a goal for Hojlund, the young Danish centre-forward who is becoming the latest poster boy for Manchester United’s transfer-market excesses.
He arrived from Atalanta in the summer of 2023 with a burgeoning reputation (albeit not in proportion with an initial €75million/$77.9m/£61.9m transfer fee) but the speed and tenacity he showed in those first few months — even when struggling for goals — has given way to struggle as the chances have dried up and his confidence has evaporated.
Amorim made the point last week that United need to do more to create chances for him. That is certainly true. The only sniff he had in 70 minutes against Fulham came early on, when Christian Eriksen’s cross gave him the opportunity to attack the near post, but it wasn’t really even a half-chance, given the presence of Bassey.
The bigger concern is that Hojlund’s shoulders seemed to drop in the second half. At one point the crowd’s frustration was audible as he failed to close down Fulham in possession. At home to Crystal Palace four weeks ago, Amorim preferred Kobbie Mainoo, a midfielder, to lead the line. This time, the manager replaced Hojlund with 17-year-old Chido Obi after 68 minutes.
At 22, Hojlund is young enough to get back on track. But, like Jadon Sancho, Antony, Marcus Rashford and others, he might find himself wondering if he would be better off somewhere — anywhere — else.
Oliver Kay
How close did Obi come to winning it before penalties?
Obi injected energy into United’s attack, troubling Fulham with his intelligent movement and rapid runs in behind.
He managed three shots in the closing stages — a stark improvement on Hojlund’s single effort, a sliced strike from an acute angle early in the match. Were it not for a sharp Leno save from close range, he might well have secured United the winner.
He let the ball go across his body and then lifted it with his right foot but Leno managed to get a hand to it and scoop it over the bar.
These are dark times for Manchester United, but young players with Obi’s energy and purpose will always offer Old Trafford a flicker of light.
How bad are United from set pieces?
Manchester United’s set-piece woes rumble on into 2025, having conceded 17 goals from dead-ball situations in 2024 — their most on record. They have now shipped three from corners this year, with the goal conceded against Everton — where Beto poked home after some chaotic pinball defending — particularly hapless.
Bassey’s goal was the result of some similarly shoddy defending. United were caught out as Andreas Pereira whipped the ball in for Rodrigo Muniz to flick on completely unchallenged. As the ball floated towards the back post, Bassey took full advantage of Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui’s sluggishness, rising powerfully to head past Onana.
There were some doubts over the corner decision. Fernandes and Pereira contested a high ball with the officials deeming it had hit off Fernandes last, a decision that the Manchester United captain protested furiously against.
Either way, it remains an area of weakness. Amorim has acknowledged the issue and promised improvements, yet 24 games into his tenure, they remain just as vulnerable.
The real frustration for United is that they had actually defended well in the first half — Fulham were yet register a shot on target before that corner — but another momentary lapse of concentration undid all their good work.
Conor O’Neill
What did Ruben Amorim say?
“The goal is to win the Premier League,” Amorim said to BBC after the game. “I know that we are losing games but the goal is to win the Premier League again. I don’t know how long it will take. We have a goal and we continue forward no matter what. It’s impossible to know but you start understanding the players are better and we understand the league. We’ll see in the future.
“It’s really important but we have to recover the players. They were really tired and we have three days (after Real Sociedad in the Europa League) and then here at Old Trafford against Arsenal.”
What next for United?
Thursday, March 6: Real Sociedad (A), UEFA Europa League, 5.45pm GMT, 12.25 pm ET
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(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
