Manchester United 3-1 Fulham: Red Devils come from behind as three red cards are shown to visitors

What was really unfortunate for Fulham was that the piece of football that initially sparked one of the most bottomless five minutes of the season seemed on the face of it quite heroic.

Having made poor judgment attempting to intercept the ball at the halfway line, Fulham’s Brazilian Willian set off with not particularly characteristic zeal towards his own goal to try and recover the situation.

Willian also got there. With his team leading by one goal and on top of a Manchester United team that looked tired, flat and largely powerless, Jadon Sancho’s goal-line blocking of him felt and looked inspired. He had run more than half the length of the field at top speed.

The problem was that the ball had slipped out of his arm when it deflected off the post. It wasn’t necessarily his fault, but it was clear from the TV replays. So when referee Chris Kavanagh looked at the VAR monitor on the touchline, we all thought we knew what was coming. Red card and penalty for United.

As it turned out, that was only half. What to say about what happened next, other than that it represented one of the most remarkable passages of communal self-harm we’ve seen on a football field in a long time.

As Kavanagh stared at his monitor, Fulham manager Marco Silva came over with something to say. Rather too much, it turned out. He was expelled. Then, as Kavanagh was pointing to the penalty spot, Fulham center forward and goalscorer Aleksandar Mitrovic walked up to him and shoved him in the upper arm. He too was expelled.

Then, belatedly, it was Willian’s turn to walk for the original offence. So three were gone in the space of a minute. On the field, Fulham had gone from eleven players to nine without kicking a ball and Willian was the only one who left calm.

Silva had something to say to United manager Erik ten Hag before walking off. Mitrovic seemed ready to take on the world and not in a good way.

When everything settled down, and finally did, Bruno Fernandes converted the penalty that canceled out Mitrovic’s volley on 50 minutes. Ninety seconds later, Luke Shaw crossed low for Marcel Sabitzer to put United ahead. Fernandes made the third with the last kick of the match and United were through to the semi-finals at the end of an afternoon that had seen them dominated for over an hour.

Fulham will feel underhanded, but they shouldn’t. This was his own fault. Silva is his coach and Mitrovic his highest profile player. Fulham may have survived a draw and the loss of a player. It is known that ten men have won a football match. Nine? Not that often. So when Fulham look for the culprits behind this change, they shouldn’t look far.

Official abuse is rampant in football and this was one occasion where a referee decided he would not allow it.

Fulham had come to play and compete and that had been encouraging. Mitrovic had been superb until he lost his mind. Moments earlier, his header from a free-kick had been deflected with claws by United goalkeeper David de Gea. At 2-0, Fulham would have been pretty much in the last four. As United’s season of progress continues.

Silva’s team selection spoke of intent and so did his team’s early football. United, meanwhile, have been here before recently. Ten Hag’s side have bounced back admirably from the 7-0 loss to Liverpool, but are starting to look leggy as they continue to progress in the Europa League. On Thursday night, football takes its toll at the end.

The United manager was forced to make a couple of changes here with Casemiro suspended and Rafael Varane injured. Replacements were decent, with Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire filling in.

For the first 20 minutes or more, Fulham were comfortably superior. Former United youth squad Andreas Pereira was effective in midfield, as was the Brazilian, once at Chelsea and Arsenal. Up front, meanwhile, the target was the formidable Mitrovic.

The Serb is at his most dangerous in the air, but it was central defender Issa Dip who forced De Gea to bring down the bar in the second minute. Then, five minutes later, a beautiful connection between Pereira and Willian gave Willian a shot from 18 meters and his right-footed shot deflected just wide of De Gea’s left post.

United were calm from the start. They were unable to secure constant possession and therefore fought over territory. A break to the left saw Marcus Rashford switch infield play to Wout Weghorst, but the Dutchman’s left-footed shot was weak. At the other end, a low Tim Ream cross begged to be pushed towards goal but seemed to stun everyone. Mitrovic then went down after a tangle with Lisandro Martinez in the penalty area only for replays to reveal that it had been the Fulham player who had initiated the contact. Soon after, Mitrovic rose higher to meet Antonee Robinson’s cross, but his header flew up, not down.

It was a decent game at this point, but it probably needed a Fulham goal to really fire it up. When that did not come, United little by little began to prevail. Rashford was bowled down the left in the 32nd minute, but Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno was able to choke out. Subitzer then drove hard only to be stopped by Leno and a good overlap from the Austrian then saw him cross low and perhaps half a yard ahead of Rashford.

Just before half time, Weghorst pushed a superbly weighted dismissal into Sancho’s path and when he in turn fed McTominay, he needed a tackle from Ream to prevent the Scotsman from opening the scoring from seven yards.

That offside period just before the interval felt like it could lead to an improvement at United, but it didn’t happen. Instead, it was Fulham who started the second half with the highest attacking pace and their goal came after five minutes.

A flurry of activity saw Willian heavily involved. His heel shot in the penalty area at minute 47 allowed Robinson to shoot and De Gea touched the ball over the top. From the corner, the ball was recycled to Willian once again. This time De Gea has stretched to the maximum to deflect the shot from 18 meters to the post.

The third time United were not so lucky. Pereira’s corner to the near post helped by Diop and Mitrovic reached the bottom to volley from six meters.

It was an advantage Fulham deserved and, once they had seized it, they continued to press, perhaps sensing they might need another goal to win the game against a United team familiar with late comebacks.

Ten Hag’s response was to launch a forward, Antony, instead of a holding player, McTominay. This reorganization allowed Rashford to move into a central attacking position with Weghorst sitting behind him.

A chance came almost immediately when a long ball from Martinez headed wide for Rashford. He then returned it infield to Fernandes, who fired wide. However, Mitrovoc continued to be a nuisance at the other end. Oner’s header in the 66th minute required a claw save from De Gea. Then, as the ball went back in, another header from the same player went wide with the Spanish goalkeeper stranded.

With less than 25 minutes to go, Fulham were comfortable, if not completely in control. Then, in the space of a counterattack, everything changed.

United came out of their own half in the 70th minute and Antony led the charge down the right. His inside pass to Sancho gave his teammate a chance to level the game only to be denied by Willian down the line after passing to Leno and dropping Harrison Reed to the ground. It had been a heroic return from Willian, but unfortunately the ball had been deflected past his armpost.

When referee Kavanagh checked the pitchside monitor, it was clear that a red card and penalty were expected. What really killed Fulham was what happened next. At 1-1 with ten men, Fulham could have had a sentence. With nine they did not.

After that the chaos had once again given way to some football. Fernandes rolled in the penalty. Then, less than two minutes later, Shaw crossed low from the left and Subitzer heeled the ball in.

By now Old Trafford was alive and Fulham was not. Fernandes’ goal in minute five of seven added felt cruel. By then, most of the damage had already been done. By Fulham.