Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag accused Nottingham Forest of targeting Bruno Fernandes in his side’s FA Cup win at the City Ground and branded criticism of his captain “pathetic”.
The Portugal midfielder overcame a “serious injury” to play his part in United’s 1-0 victory at Forest, setting up Casemiro’s 89th-minute winner from a free-kick.
He was on the receiving end of plenty of robust challenges from Forest throughout the 90 minutes while also being the butt of social media jokes after Saturday’s loss against Fulham where he suffered the problem.
Fulham’s official TikTok account poked fun at him for appearing to feign injury and it got Ten Hag’s back up.
Asked about the severity of Fernandes’ injury, he said: “I don’t want to go into that because you saw that Forest was targeting him, so I don’t tell what he has but it was a serious injury.
“There were many fouls on him. Maybe I am a little bit too tough but when he has the ball they were really tight on him.
“Then I see that serious media criticise him and social media is pathetic and it can’t be.
“He has a serious injury but he continued to play on Saturday and today he also fought to be part of the game and he has a very high pain threshold.
“Last year he did also something similar against Spurs and in the semi-final and it shows his leadership because that expresses his character and that is very good when you are a leader.”
This was far from a classic performance by United, who face Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, but they got the job done and kept hopes of finishing the season with a trophy in tact.
That is not going to be easy, though, as they were handed quarter-final draw against Liverpool at Old Trafford in two and a half weeks.
“There are many good teams in the Premier League, Liverpool at this moment is top but it is a great challenge and we are really looking forward and we like the challenges, it is a great game for us to play.
“But first of all we are now looking forward to Sunday.”
Extra time was looming when Casemiro glanced Fernandes’ delivery past Matt Turner to send United’s travelling contingent wild.
The goal survived a lengthy VAR check as Raphael Varane, who was in an offside possession, blocked a couple of Forest players, but he was ruled not to be interfering in play.
Such has been Forest’s frustration at refereeing decisions in recent weeks, they have appointed Mark Clattenburg to act as a conduit to the PGMOL and he was spotted sat next to Howard Webb.
And this was another decision that went against them but boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who swatted away Ten Hag’s suggestions of targeting Fernandes, did not want to dwell on it.
Nuno said: “I didn’t see clearly the images but speaking with the players they say it is a block and a possible offside. They checked it.
“We have had so many issues in this period with VAR and referees that we try to forget about it and move forward.
“I think it was a good performance, we played good, much better than the previous game, so improvement from that.
“It is frustrating to lose it in the end but I think we played good, football is cruel sometimes and today we are on that side.”
Tchouameni an injury doubt for Champions League final
Aurelien Tchouameni is an injury doubt for Real Madrid’s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund next month.
Madrid came from behind to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in their semi-final second leg on Wednesday, but the Frenchman was forced off in the 70th minute.
Tchouameni has sustained a stress injury to his left foot, which will reportedly rule him out for three to four weeks.
He will miss Madrid’s final three games of the LaLiga season against Alaves, Villarreal and Real Betis, and is now a major doubt to play in the Champions League final on June 1.
Madrid have lost just two games in all competitions this campaign, and Tchouameni did not start either of them.
Arsenal hand Jorginho one-year contract extension
Arsenal midfielder Jorginho has signed a one-year contract extension with the club.
Jorginho was due to be out of contract at the end of this season, having penned an 18-month deal when he left Chelsea to join the Gunners in a £12million transfer last January.
The Italy international has since emerged as a key part of Mikel Arteta's squad as Arsenal battle Manchester City for the Premier League title, making 35 appearances throughout all competitions in 2023-24.
Speaking to Arsenal's official media channels, Jorginho said: "I'm really happy to stay, because it's a privilege to be a part of this family.
"There was not much to discuss to be honest, because I feel really good here.
"Just to know that they appreciate me and want me to stay longer as well, it's a big thing for me. I feel that I have more to do, so that’s the reason why I'm staying."
As well as helping Italy to glory at the delayed Euro 2020 three years ago, Jorginho has won the Champions League, Europa League, Club World Cup and Coppa Italia during spells with Chelsea and Napoli.
A league title is the honour he wants most of all, however, saying: "That’s missing! It's something that definitely I would like to add to that list and it would mean a lot to me.
"I want to win as much as I can and enjoy the moment because that's really important for me. Moving forward, it's just about trying to be happy and achieve as much as we can."
Jorginho has made 23 Premier League appearances this season, with Arsenal only losing two of those matches (17 wins, four draws), while suffering three defeats in 13 without him (nine wins, one draw).
The Gunners have recorded a higher win ratio (73.9 per cent to 69.2 per cent), averaged more goals per game (2.5 to 2.3) and conceded fewer (0.7 to 0.9) when the 32-year-old has been involved compared to when he has not.
Dyche demands 'maximum effort' as the minimum requirement from Everton
Sean Dyche is demanding maximum effort as the minimum requirement from Everton when they host already relegated Sheffield United this weekend.
Despite another nervy season at Goodison Park, during which they were deducted six points following a breach of Profitability and Sustainability Rules, the Toffees have secured their top-flight status for another year at least.
Everton are enjoying a strong end to the campaign with last weekend's 1-1 draw at Luton Town extending their unbeaten run to four matches, and Dyche is not expecting his players to rest on their laurels.
"I want us to perform and at least give everything, as we did at Luton," he said.
"You can’t always guarantee you are brilliant. But you can guarantee you give everything, and that was on show again this past weekend.
"The minimum requirement is maximum effort. It hasn’t changed, we want to take that into Goodison and hope we play a little bit better with the ball, and hopefully score some more goals."
Dyche also saluted the impact of the younger members of his squad, with eight players aged 25 or under appearing 10 or more times during a testing season.
"There are a lot of challenges for these players," he added. "But they are beginning to come together as a group, and we have seen that. It has rewarded us, of course, and the fans."
However, their opponents' focus is already on next season, with their immediate return to the Championship confirmed.
In an English top-flight campaign of 38 games or less, only Darwen (112 in 1891-92) and Leicester City (102 in 1908-09) have conceded more goals than the Blades (100).
Chris Wilder knows there is plenty of work to do in United's quest to bounce straight back into the Premier League, but believes the close season will allow him the opportunity to get them in the best shape possible.
"I'll have time to put my own stamp on it," he said. "I'll have time to sign players that I know are going to be good and have a strong enough mentality to do it.
“Defensively and from set-plays and everything else, there's an incredible amount of work to do. We can't do that at the moment because it's difficult, but we will do it, and we'll get it right in terms of those aspects of the game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton – Jordan Pickford
The Everton goalkeeper has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premier League this season – including one in each of the Toffees’ last four home games – with only Arsenal’s David Raya recording more (15)
It is Pickford’s second-highest tally of shutouts in a single campaign after 2018-19 (14).
Sheffield United – Ben Brereton
Despite only joining the club in January, the Chile international has scored the most Premier League goals for the Blades this season (six).
Brereton’s rate of a goal every 158 in the second-best by a United player in a single campaign (minimum 500 minutes) after Nathan Blake in 1993-94 (a goal every 145 minutes).
MATCH PREDICTION: EVERTON
Everton have responded to their 6-0 defeat at Chelsea last month by embarking on a four-match unbeaten streak (winning three, drawing one).
By contrast, United have lost each of their last five games, and are only the second side in Premier League history to concede 100 or more goals during a single campaign after Swindon Town in 1993-94.
While the Toffees have lost their final home league match in just one of the last eight seasons (winning six, drawing one), the Blades have lost their final away game in each of their last four Premier League campaigns.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Everton: 54.1%
Sheffield United: 19.3%
Draw: 26.6%
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