Scott McTominay’s extra-time winner earned Manchester United a slender 1-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford, booking them a spot in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals for the seventh season running.
Marcus Rashford had the best chance of a goalless 90 minutes, but the 23-year-old teed up his Scottish teammate for the decisive goal that saw the Hammers’ bid to reach the last eight for the third time since 2006 fall short.
The home side dominated possession in the game’s early stages but found a deep-lying West Ham side hard to break down, with Nemanja Matic lashing over a speculative effort after picking up a loose ball in the middle of the park.
Victor Lindelof came close to breaking the deadlock for Manchester United in the 27th minute with a piercing header that needed tipping onto the post by Lukasz Fabianski, and soon after Donny van de Beek had a shot turned over.
Scott McSauce 🔥🔥🔥🔥
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Man Utd go ahead in extra-time! pic.twitter.com/EloeZhTkHY
As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men seemed to be finding their rhythm, better play from Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal suggested West Ham were slowly finding their feet, but neither team was able to get their noses in front before the interval.
The Red Devils carved out the first real chance after half time as Fabianski was again called upon in the West Ham goal, this time to deny Rashford who showed great chest control but could only shoot weakly at the on-rushing Pole.
Rashford’s misgivings provoked a response from West Ham, with the lively Cresswell having his powerful shot blocked just before the hour, while a miscued clearance attempt from Aaron Wan-Bissaka nearly evaded home goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Bruno Fernandes was brought on with 15 minutes to go as the hosts searched for the creative spark the game had been lacking, but the Portuguese magician couldn’t prevent the tie from going into extra time.
It didn’t take too long for the men in red to score after the restart, though, with McTominay’s fizzing drive from just inside the box seven minutes into the additional 30 eventually proving enough for the 12-time winners to progress.
Championship promotion hopefuls AFC Bournemouth became the first team to progress into the 2020/21 Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals, knocking out Premier League Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor.
The Cherries dominated proceedings in the first half and went in front through Sam Surridge, and although a much-changed Burnley side improved after the break, a late Junior Stanislas penalty put the result beyond doubt.
After a scrappy start, second-tier Bournemouth gradually worked their way into the game and Stanislas skewed a first-time effort just wide.
Burnley - who made eight changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Brighton on Saturday - should have gone in front in the 13th minute, only for Dale Stephens to launch his shot well over.
Having weathered that storm the visitors saw Phil Billing go close, before Surridge’s penalty claims were waved away by referee Darren England.
And it was indeed Bournemouth who took the lead in the 21st minute, Jack Stacey powering into the box and teeing up Surridge for an easy finish past Northern Ireland international Bailey Peacock-Farrell.
The Cherries continued to push forward before the break, and Peacock-Farrell was called upon to make a smart save from a header that came off his Burnley teammate Stephens, preventing Jonathan Woodgate’s men doubling their advantage.
Sean Dyche’s half-time team talk inspired a better start to the second period from Burnley, but Jay Rodriguez missed a golden chance to level terms by scooping his close-range shot well over the bar.
Skipper Phil Bardsley drove an effort just wide on the hour mark as Burnley continued to chase the equaliser, but Stanislas fired home confidently from the spot to make it 2-0 two minutes from time after Surridge was felled in the area.
