Manchester United were eliminated from the FA Cup early after losing a penalty shootout to second-tier Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on Friday.
The fourth round got off to a shocking start as Chris Wilder’s Championship club perhaps destroyed the English Premier League giant’s last realistic hope of silverware this season.
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Ralf Rangnick’s star-studded team took the lead through Jacho, but Matt Crooks, a longtime United fan, equalised, and the match ended 1-1 after extra time.
Every penalty was saved until Anthony Elanga missed his at the Stretford End, giving Boro an 8-7 victory and driving the 9,500-strong crowd berserk.
Given the way United started, few could have predicted the game reaching the distance.
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Sancho hit the crossbar after a one-sided first half in which he put the hosts ahead thanks to a tiny Isaiah Jones defection just after Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty.
Boro appeared to be limited, but the hosts’ profligacy cost them, and Duncan Watmore crossed for Crooks to score in front of the noisy visiting Teessiders.
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The goal was expected to be called out due to Watmore’s handball in the build-up, but both the referee and VAR decided it to be an accident.
With the goal at his mercy, Fernandes struck the post, and the game went to extra time and then penalties, where Elanga fired over the crossbar after 15 consecutive goals.