Coventry City Pushes Manchester United to Penalties

Coventry City came within a 'toenail' of beating Manchester United in the FA Cup. The Championship side lost 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the match ended 3-3.

What happened?

Coventry City, eighth in the Championship, faced off against Manchester United, who have won the FA Cup 12 times. The gulf between the two teams was evident in their wage bills: United's is £331.4m, around 14 times that of Coventry's £23.6m.

Key moments

U.S. international Haji Wright was ruled offside by the VAR after squaring the ball for substitute Victor Torp to poke home what they thought was the winner in the 120th minute. Coventry manager Mark Robins said, 'Had he cut his toenail, it wouldn’t have gone to penalties.'

Turning point

Robins' tactical tweak at the break, switching from a 5-2-3 to a 4-2-3-1, changed the momentum and complexion of the tie. As Robins said: 'When we were looking at United, they have got some top players who are blistering on the counter attack, so you have to be careful that you don’t open up too soon.'

Impact of substitutes

Coventry's substitutes had a huge impact when they came on — Luis Binks put a crunching tackle in on Bruno Fernandes in extra time, and Fabio Tavares set up Ellis Simms' 19th goal of the season before coming off injured.