This was the only chance for Manchester United to win some silverware this season. And they blew it. Off course, they could still come and win the Champions League, but after last night’s performance against second league Middlesbrough, nobody believes in it anymore. And it all came to Anthony Elanga’s missed penalty and a dodgy handball equalizer which stood even after VAR checked it, but it shouldn’t have been like that.Powerless Manchester United knocked out by second-division Boro!United had 9 shots on target and Cristiano Ronaldo of all people missed the penalty in the 20th minute.„We conceded a goal which I don’t understand why it stood. He controlled it with his hand. In the moment when they scored, it was clear that VAR would not allow this goal to stand. We should have won and killed off the game in the first half – crossbar, post, missed penalty and numerous chances. Bruno Fernandes’ chance was like a penalty in itself. If he has 10 chances like that in a game he will take nine of them. I was more than pleased with our performance in the first half, but in the cup it’s about winning and proceeding into the next round, and we are extremely disappointed’’ said a frustrated Rangnick after the game.WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT 😱@mdrcrooks scores against the club he supports for @Boro! 💥#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/dgtNknW8c3— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 4, 2022 But, on the other hand, former referee Mark Clattenburg approved his colleagues decision to confirm Boro’s goal.„Middlesbrough’s goal was allowed to stand because of a change to the handball law last summer. Duncan Watmore handled the ball before finding Matt Crooks, who scored. But the tweaked law says a goal will only be disallowed if the scorer handles the ball — not the player in possession before him. Referee Anthony Taylor could have blown if he believed there had been a deliberate handball by the Boro man. He didn’t think it was deliberate because a miscontrol by Watmore meant the ball flicked up to hit his arm, and I agree with that verdict. It was accidental, so it was right that the goal stood.“ explained former Premier League referee in his Daily Mail column.Keane stormed over to his player’s house: ‘Let me in’!And Boro manager Chris Wilder was rightfully overjoyed for the victory against such a club, and even revealed a little ’secret’.„The goalkeeper saved a couple of my penalties for 20 pounds yesterday morning. The boys practiced after the end of training but you can’t replicate being in front of the Stretford End and Dean Henderson. You know you’re going to be up against it here. We rode our luck at times but showed plenty of spirit. They showed a tremendous of bottle. There were a few doubters on the sidelines when Sol Bamba and Lee Peltier, with a combined age of 110, stepped up but they were really good penalties and we heaped the pressure on them“ said Wilder.FA CUPFourth Round FridayManchester United – Middlesbrough 0-0 (1-0)/Sancho 25 – Crooks 64/Middlesbrough win 8-7 on penalties.Saturday15.30: (14.0) Kidderminster (6.75) West Ham (1.20)15.30: (1.10) Chelsea (11.0) Plymouth (19.0)18.00: (2.00) Stoke (3.40) Wigan (3.90)18.00: (1.70) Wolverhampton (3.70) Norwich (5.20)18.00: (1.15) Man.City (8.50) Fulham (15.0)18.00: (3.40) Peterborough (3.40) QPR (2.15)18.00: (1.58) Southampton (4.00) Coventry (6.00)18.00: (1.17) Crystal Palace (7.50) Hartlepool (16.0)18.00: (1.75) Huddersfield (3.50) Barnsley (5.10)18.00: (2.10) Everton (3.45) Brentford (3.50)20.30: (3.50) Cambridge (3.45) Luton (2.10)23.00: (1.95) Tottenham (3.40) Brighton (4.10)Sunday15.00: (1.15) Liverpool (7.75) Cardiff (18.0)19.00: (4.10) Nott.Forest (3.50) Leicester (1.92)21.30: (1.28) Bournemouth (5.50) Boreham Wood (11.0)***odds are subject of change
