When Manchester storm London

This weekend has seen the FA Cup semi finals take place in the glorious Wembley Stadium in London. The semi finals had Manchester City take on mighty underdogs Sheffield United on Saturday and Manchester United take on shock standouts this season Brighton on Sunday.

Manchester City came into the semi final after knocking Bayern Munich out of the Champions league and after 15 successive games without a loss. Star striker and multiple record breaker Erling Haaland looked set to continue his unimaginable goal scoring form where the Norwegians had scored 48 goals in 41 games for the Citizens leading into one of the on paper, easier games of the season. Pep Guardiola's side are odds-on favourite for all three competitions they are participating in and leading into the weekend, everyone knew that a miracle would be needed to see the Blades progress.

Sheffield United are confirmed to be in the promotion fight this season and are in the driver's seat for the automatic spot. Paul Heckingbottom has led his side to a strong fight in the league and cup, with big wins over Tottenham and league winners Burnley this season showing the intent and strength of the Blades. Midfield losses of James Mcatee and Thomas Doyle due to the parent club rule left Sheffield Utd at an offensive hinderance for their toughest challenge. Iliman Ndiaye would have all eyes on him from the red side of both Sheffield and Manchester, praying for more magic from the FA cup.

Two minutes into the game, Ndiaye has a corner fall straight to his feet from a header from John Egan and sadly struck it straight at the goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. Sheffield United saw this chance be their only shot on target for the match as city picked the pace up after the early scare. Sheffield's defence held up well, only facing 1 shot on target from City after 40 minutes. However, a clumsy and soft kick from Daniel Jebbison saw Bernardo Silva fall in the box and referee Stuart Attwell point to the penalty spot. Riyad Mahrez was the man to step up for the penalty, with a 75% conversion record on penalties this year and Haaland's uncharacteristic miss mid-week against Bayern. Mahrez slotted the penalty into the bottom right hand corner past Wes Foderingham and led City down the tunnel at half time, with the score standing at 1-0.

A slow start to the second half saw City take 11 minutes for their first major chance and a further five minutes for Mahrez's second goal. Mahrez tackled Max Lowe on the halfway line and using Haaland as a dummy, skipped past Jack Robinson before calmly sliding the ball into the bottom right corner. Mahrez didn't take long to complete his hat trick after Jack Grealish cut inside from the left, laying the ball to the Penalty spot for Riyad to place the ball in the same corner as the other two. The last 25 minutes were business as usual for city, with very little of the ball being played at the Blades' feet and City facing little to no pressure at their own goalmouth. A 3-0 final score line saw the Citizens coast into the final and would only have to wait 24 hours to see who their opponents would be.

Sunday's fixture saw a closer affair with a closer split between predictions for who would progress. Erik Ten Hag's Manchester United were looking for a much greater performance after the collapse away in Seville on Thursday. After major mistakes from David De Gea and Harry Maguire, fans were looking for a more solid defensive performance from the Red devils. Maguire's suspension from too many yellow cards left Ten Hag using three full backs in a back for, with Luke Shaw reprising his role at centre back after strong performances earlier in the season partnered with traditional centre halves.

Brighton have been the shock of the season, with Roberto De Zerbi leading his side to an almost historical season as the Seagulls are on the brink of a European campaign next season. With up and coming stars such as Kaoru Mitoma, Moises Caicedo, Evan Ferguson and Julio Enciso, Brighton are a force to be reckoned with now and for many years to come. De Zerbi has taken the success that Graham Potter made on the south coast and has completely revolutionised the way the club play and has created another brand new identity for the club.

Momentum in the first half seemed to fall in Brighton's favour, with strong chances from Julio Enciso and a strong freekick from Alexis Mac Allister being denied from reaching the top corner by David De Gea. Manchester United were not completely pinned back due to Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes having strong strikes saved from Robert Sanchez as well as 2 close efforts from Bruno and Anthony Martial whisk past the goal.

As the second half went underway, chances for both sides were flowing. Former Devil Danny Welbeck had a header ,that will now probably live in his nightmares, fly just over the crossbar after an exquisite cross from Pascal Gross. Solly March also had two shots saved by De Gea in the second half, as well as the Spanish goalkeeper putting his body on the line in two strong collisions with Mitoma. Substitutes Deniz Undav and Jadon Sancho lacked a true impact on the game for their sides respectively and after four minutes of injury time, regular time ended and the teams faced an extra 30 minutes with the possibility of penalties also being on the horizon.

Extra time was a continuation of the end to end game we saw in the second half. Brighton's system of quick passing from back to front was planned to be shut down using a lower block by United but chances were still getting through but not through regular outlets. Kaoru Mitoma, who is one of the signings of the season, was shut down for the majority of the gamer by Aaron Wan-Bissaka with the Japanese winger unable to complete a successful dribble against the full-back. Undav had a chance early into the first half of extra time but his first touch let him down, allowing Diogo Dalot to clear. Other chances fell to Marcel Sabitzer and Marcus Rashford, with the former's falling just wide of the post and the latter needing a strong save from Sanchez.

As we entered the second half of extra time, fans were wondering what it would take for either side to score and the idea of a penalty shootout loomed closer and closes. Moises Caicedo was voted man of the match and his work rate even after 120 minutes looked like he could run for 120 more, showing positives for Brighton after the drama within the summer transfer window between Caicedo and a possible transfer to Chelsea or Arsenal. Few chances challenged the goalkeepers for both sides and a highly anticipated penalty shooutout was on the cards, the lottery that either makes someone the biggest hero or greatest villain.

After five penalties each, the score was level at 5-5, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho scoring at the end of Wembley they missed at in the Euro 2020 final against Italy. Hometown hero Lewis Dunk scored the fifth penalty for Brighton and no one was able to distinguish which team would win or how long the shootout would go on for. United's last penalty shootout lasted 22 penalties, with De Gea being unable to save any of the 11 penalties faced as well as missing his to lose the Europa League final to Villareal. Another round of penalties saw Adam Webster and Wout Weghorst convert from 12 yards. The ball was then passed to Solly March, who skied his ball over the bar and left all the pressure onto Victor Lindelof's shoulders. The swede has not played many minutes this year but through multiple injuries and captain Maguires's suspension, he stepped up to the penalty spot.

A calm and composed finish into the top right corner sent the Red end of the stadium into uproar as United were through, to face their city rivals on June 3rd. Both Manchester sides have beaten each other at home this season, with the more recent fixture falling in the Red's favour. With possible returns of Martinez and Varane as well as their captain Harry Maguire, Ten Hag looks to have a stronger set up for the final than the semis. However, with the consistent form of Haaland and the constant development this season of wingers Grealish and Mahrez, City fall in the bookies favourites to win the game in the capital. One thing is for sure, you will not want to miss it!