Manchester United are off to the FA Cup fourth round after a tremendous 4-3 win on penalties against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday night!United’s reserve keeper Altay Bayindir made a heroic performance tonight, as he stopped Martin Odegaard’s penalty in the second half and Kai Havertz’s spot kick in the shootout to push his side to a larger-than-life victory.Joshua Zirkzee netted the ultimate penalty and triggered a wild celebration both on the pitch and in the stands among a few thousand ecstatic Red Devils’ supporters.Justice.— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 12, 2025 It ended 1-1 after 120 minutes, as Bruno Fernandes broke the deadlock shortly after the start of the second half before Gabriel levelled the score 11 minutes later.What a yin and yang, black and white of a game! Two halves, two different sports, we could say without hesitation. After almost no action whatsoever in the opening 50 minutes, we saw a true spectacle as both sides showed class, determination, fighting spirit and everything else that makes football such a magical game.That Bruno’s opener is the one ‘to blame’ for such a spectacular turnaround, as it triggered the whole thing – Man Utd were suddenly looking like a proper giant, while Arsenal were eager to prevent a dreadful home loss to their long-lasting nemesis.And what a belter that was from Fernandes!THE CAPTAIN BRUNO FERNANDES BANGS IT HOME FOR MANCHESTER UNITED!!WHAT A FINISH! 👏 pic.twitter.com/RfsWkoYJ7v— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 12, 2025 He ran perfectly in the counter before hitting it with an incredible pace and power for a superb, mouth-watering finish into the distant corner, 1-0.However, shortly after, the Red Devils were reduced to ten men, as Diogo Dallot was rightfully sent off for a late, reckless tackle on Mikel Merino that earned him a second yellow. Just two minutes later, the Gunners equalized through Gabriel, whose volley deflected off De Ligt and went into the back of the net, 1-1.That crazy sequence, which lasted some 20 minutes, was sealed with a penalty for the home side. Kai Havertz went down following a limited contact with Harry Maguire, but with no VAR in the FA Cup, the ref couldn’t review the decision but stayed with it. Odegaard went for it, but Man Utd’s keeper Altay Bayindir dived amazingly to his left to save it, thus scrapping Arsenal’s storm in progress.🚨🚨 BAYINDIR SAVES ODEGAARD’S PENALTY! 🧤🧱pic.twitter.com/9AUNUXM37A— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) January 12, 2025 A few minutes later, Bayindir stepped up again with a brilliant save, this time on Declan Rice’s close-range header.Not even Bayindir could perform a miracle, though, when Havertz got the ball inside the area and handballed it swiftly and out of the ref’s sight, but the German forward missed a sitter that could have decided the match.The same could be applied to Rice’s last-gasp effort, deep into the stoppage time, which Bayindir denied with a tip of his finger.The game went into extra time, with United blatantly pushing for the penalty shootout, as they seemed exhausted from constant defending without Dallot.Maguire was forced to leave the pitch at the end of the first extra period as Leni Yoro came on. Despite the mentioned tiredness, visitors made an impressive counter in the opening seconds of the second extra time, but Zirkzee’s low effort couldn’t fool Raya.We went to a penalty shootout, and Havertz was the only one to miss it from the spot. Or to be precise – Bayindir made another incredible save for this out-of-this-world display that sent his team to the next round.HAVERTZ HAS HIS PENALTY SAVED! pic.twitter.com/1am6jCCf5l— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 12, 2025 FA CUP ROUND 3 ThursdaySheffield Utd. – Cardiff 0-1 (0-1)/Ashford 19/Everton – Peterborough 2-0 (1-0)/Beto 42, Ndiaye 90+8 pen/Fulham – Watford 4-1 (1-1)/Muniz 26, Jimenez 49 pen, Andersen 65, Castagne 85 – Vata 33/FridayWycombe – Portsmouth 2-0 (2-0)/Hanlan 17, Bradley 27/Aston Villa – West Ham 2-1 (0-1)/Onana 71, Rogers 76 – Paqueta 9/SaturdayBirmingham – Lincoln City 2-0 (1-0)/Yokoyama 1, Dykes 77/Bristol City – Wolverhampton 1-2 (1-2)/Twine 45+2 – Nouri 10, Gomes 21/Middlesbrough – Blackburn 0-1 (0-0)/Weimann 70/Liverpool – Accrington 4-0 (2-0)/Jota 29, Alexander-Arnold 45, Danns 76, Chiesa 90/Leicester – QPR 6-2 (3-2)/Justin 9, 63, Mavididi 37, Buonanotte 38, Vardy 51 pen, Faes 90+3 – Varane 18, Kolli 45+2/Bournemouth – WBA 5-1 (3-1)/Kluivert 27, Outtara 34, 44, Semenyo 47, Jebbison 90+2 – Taylor 14/Brentford – Plymouth 0-1 (0-0)/Whittaker 82/Chelsea – Morecambe 5-0 (1-0)/Adarabioyo 40, 70, Nkunku 50, Felix 75, 77/Exeter – Oxford 3-1 (2-1)/Mitchell 22, 40, Harper 64 – Phillips 14/Norwich – Brighton 0-4 (0-2)/Rutter 37, 45+2, Enciso 59, March 74/Nott.Forest – Luton 2-0 (1-0)/Yates 40, Sosa 68/Reading – Burnley 1-3 a.e.t. (1-1)/Wing 77 – Foster 71, Flemming 100, 109/Sunderland – Stoke 1-2 a.e.t (1-1)/Aleksic 64 – Cannon 4 pen, Ennis 112/Leeds – Harrogate T. 1-0 (0-0)/Ramazani 59/Man.City – Salford 8-0 (3-0)/Doku 8, 69 pen, Mubama 20, O’Reilly 43, Grealish 49 pen, McAtee 62, 72, 81/Coventry – Sheffield W. 4-3 on pen (1-1)/Kitching 26 – Musaba 90+3/Leyton – Derby POSTPONEDSundayHull – Doncaster 4-5 on pen (1-1)/Puerta 80 – Molyneux 50/Tamworth – Tottenham 0-3 a.e.t (0-0)/Tshikuna 101 og, Kulusevski 107, Johnson 118/Arsenal – Man Utd 4-3 on pen (1-1)/Gabriel 63 – Bruno 52/Crystal Palace – Stockport 1-0 (1-0)/Eze 4/Ipswich – Bristol Rowers 3-0 (3-0)/Phillips 18, Clarke 24, Taylor 37/Newcastle – Bromley 3-1 (1-1)/Miley 16, Gordon 45 pen, Osula 61 – Congreve 8/Southampton – Swansea IN PROGRESSMonday22:30: (1.33) Millwall (5.00) Dag & Red (7.75)***odds are subject to change***
