Manchester United fall short on penalties

Manchester United lost their second consecutive penalty shoot out as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Middlesbrough at the 4th round stage.

The Red Devils returned to action following some time off from competitive action, and their almost first-choice XI came out of the blocks fast, hitting the crossbar in the opening minutes, before Cristiano Ronaldo sent a penalty wide of the left-hand post.

They did eventually take the lead through Jadon Sancho, only for a controversial equaliser to be allowed to stand- you can read why here.

Understandably, this left more than a few fans angry with the officiating. But Manchester United had several chances to win the game themselves, with Bruno Fernandes missing the most high profile of them when he won the ball back 25 yards out and dragged his shot against the post, despite having a seemingly open goal.

And so, it went down to penalties.

Elanga misses out

A perfect set of penalties ensued, with neither side skipping a beat despite a couple of spot kicks that the respective goalkeepers will be disappointed not to have saved.

And with Middlesbrough scoring their 8th consecutive spot-kick, it fell to Anthony Elanga to keep the Red Devils in the competition. However, he sent his penalty flying high over the crossbar, and sent the visitors through in the process.

Now, Marcus Rashford is no stranger to penalty adversity, having been one of three England players to miss spot-kicks in the Euro 2020 final shootout against Italy. And the Manchester United graduate was quick to take to social media to send Anthony Elanga, his fellow academy talent, a message of support.

‘Anthony Elanga. Get that head of yours up immediately’, his tweet read in the early hours of the morning.

Read more:

Man United fans send collective Cristiano Ronaldo message after FA Cup exit

Man United star hailed as ‘the difference’ amid improved Middlesbrough display