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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Man Utd news: David De Gea lifts lid on penalty tactic as Bruno Fernandes slammed

Manchester United will face Manchester City in June's FA Cup final after beating Brighton on penalties at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.

Erik ten Hag's side were held to a goalless draw by the Seagulls, with a shootout needed to settle the tie. The first 12 penalties were all scored before Brighton's Solly March blazed his effort way over the bar. Victor Lindelof then scored the deciding spot kick.

United have already won one tournament this season, the Carabao Cup, and will be desperate to stop local rivals City from completing a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble. As it stands, United are the only team in history to achieve that feat - doing so 24 years ago. Here is the best of the reaction from Sunday afternoon's semi-final.

De Gea's penalty tactic

David de Gea failed to save a penalty in the shootout but still finished on the winning side, with fans on social media praising the United goalkeeper for putting March off.

De Gea told reporters at full-time: "It was a very tight game against a very good team, who play really good football. We are in another final, but first we have another big game on Thursday [against Tottenham away from home] to focus on."

The Spanaird added: "We prepared the penalties as always, I tried to put pressure on each of their takers. Our team took perfect penalties so we are delighted we are in the final."

David de Gea produced a solid display against Brighton (MICAH CROOK/PPAUK/REX/Shutterstock)

What did you make of Manchester United's performance on Sunday afternoon? Let us know in the comments below!

On the final, De Gea said: "It is a long way until the final but it will be a big game against one of the best teams in the world. But we have shown that we can beat them.

"There is a lot of time before then, so we must finish in top four first before giving everything to the final. We have already won one trophy and are in another final, we are better in the league from last season. We are improving and improving so we have to be ready."

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Fowler slams Fernandes

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler was not impressed with United's vice-captain Bruno Fernandes during their win against Brighton. Fernandes wore the armband at Wembley in the absence of Harry Maguire, who was suspended for picking up too many yellow cards.

"Can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen someone moan on a pitch as much as Fernandes," Fowler tweeted during the game.

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Ten Hag's message

Ten Hag has told his players he "didn't recognise" them after his team's Europa League exit but has praised them for bouncing back against Brighton. United were dumped out of Europe by Sevilla on Thursday night after conceding three goals in Spain.

Speaking to the BBC after the Brighton game, Ten Hag said: "On Thursday I saw a team I didn't recognise but today we went back to usual. I could see determination and resilience. We fought for every yard and competed in every battle. We had good chances."

Ten Hag also praised De Gea for making a number of saves during the first 120 minutes. He added: "I was very impressed with him. He made some brilliant saves. It hurt when he made mistakes on Thursday. Often when you make mistakes as a keeper you get punished.

"We let him down, we didn't fight back for him. We bounced back today though."

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