Manchester United survived an almighty scare to progress to the FA Cup final on penalties after Coventry fell agonisingly short of a sensational comeback win at Wembley.
Sky Blues captain Ben Sheaf sent the crucial kick over the crossbar leaving Rasmus Hojlund to win it, but the game will be remembered for three goals in the final 20 minutes by the Championship side as they recovered from 3-0 down to force extra-time.
Erik ten Hag’s team were three up and cruising through to the May 25 final after goals from Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes put them on course for what at that stage looked a routine win.
But Mark Robins’ side, who are eighth in the second tier, roared back with a recovery that almost defied belief.
First, Ellis Simms converted a cross at the near post on 70 minutes to make it 3-1, then Callum O’Hare’s strike looped in off Aaron Wan-Bissaka to rattle United and spark a frantic finish.
Thereafter chaos reigned among Ten Hag’s defence as they clung on perilously to their lead, until three minutes into stoppage time Wan-Bissaka handled inside the box, giving Haji Wright the chance to write one of the great FA Cup stories from the penalty spot.
Sending Onana the wrong way, he coolly took the game to extra-time.
Coventry thought they had secured a stunning win when Victor Torp turned Wright’s cross into the net in the final minute of extra time before Coventry’s brief joy was extinguished a VAR review for offside.
A stunning cup tie was ultimately settled by penalties, Sheaf firing into the United fans as Coventry fell short by a whisker.
United had the first chance after six minutes. Onana hoofed the ball towards the edge of the Coventry box where Fernandes was waiting to nod it into the path of Alejandro Garnacho, who stretched but could only guide it wide.
Marcus Rashford was next to go close, taking Casemiro’s raking 60-yard pass brilliantly in his stride before clipping a shot wide of Bradley Collins’ post.
Coventry were struggling to emerge from their own half and a goal for United seemed a matter of time.
It arrived after 23 minutes, Garnacho receiving the ball wide on the right and feeding the overlapping Diogo Dalot. His low ball found McTominay, stealing away from his defender to knock in his 10th goal of the season from virtually on the line.
Coventry finally threatened five minutes before half-time, Josh Eccles getting free on the right of the penalty area and crossing dangerously into the six-yard box.
It looked destined for the foot of Simms, before Dalot bravely intervened to clear for United with a lunging tackle.
Rashford drew a fine save from Collins moments before the break and at that moment it looked like Coventry would see out the half only a goal behind.
But their defence could not hold and from the resulting corner Maguire evaded the attentions of everybody in sky blue and planted a header into the bottom corner for 2-0.
The fight looked gone from Coventry on the hour mark when Fernandes scored via a deflection to make it three.
Joel Latibeaudiere initially derailed Rashford as he sought space to shoot but the ball slithered out of the defender’s control and arrived at the feet of United’s captain who lashed it into the net via the unfortunate Bobby Thomas.
The tie looked over but from somewhere Coventry summoned an heroic resolve. Simms ignited a flicker of hope, guiding Fabio Tavares’ low cross beyond Onana, then O’Hare’s strike hit Wan-Bissaka and sailed over the goalkeeper for 3-2.
Haji’s penalty sparked joy amongst Sky Blues fans behind the goal as under-pressure United Ten Hag watched on forlornly.
Fernandes and Simms hit the underside of the same crossbar in either period of extra-time, then Torp thought he had won it in added time before VAR’s intervention.
After Casemiro and O’Hare saw their penalties saved in the shootout, it fell to Hojlund to hit the winning kick as United breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Motta salutes 'solid and concrete' Juventus after derby victory over Torino
Thiago Motta hailed Juventus' "solid and concrete" display on their way to victory over Torino in Derby della Mole.
The Bianconeri claimed bragging rights in the Turin derby, with goals from Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz sealing all three points.
Juve climbed to third place - a point behind leaders Napoli - after extending their unbeaten start in Serie A, while earning a ninth clean sheet - the most of any side in Europe's top five leagues.
And Motta paid tribute to his players for their performance levels at the end of a busy seven days.
"It's always important to play with balance, and today, we put in an excellent performance, bringing home three precious points," he said.
"I am happy both for the result and for the level of play expressed in front of our fans, who supported us a lot. We have to thank them, as well as the boys, because it was not easy.
"It was the third game of the week, we were able to manage our energy well, and we were solid and concrete for the whole 95 minutes. A well-deserved victory."
Weah became only the second American to score for Juventus against Torino after Weston McKennie in 2020.
Next up for the Bianconeri after the international break is a showdown with AC Milan at San Siro, where Weah's father George played a starring role during the 1990s.
"Today I'm happy," he said. "We have to continue like this, because when we play like tonight, we're strong.
"Now, the match against Milan awaits us. It's important, also for me and for the history of my family."
Slot believes Liverpool have 'many challenges to come' in Premier League title race
Arne Slot envisages "many challenges to come" in Liverpool's Premier League title race, despite his side moving five points clear at the top of the table with victory on Saturday.
The Reds capitalised on Manchester City's slip at Brighton by taking all three points in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa to establish breathing space at the summit.
Darwin Nunez gave the hosts the lead at Anfield as he capitalised after a quick counter, before Mohamed Salah did the same six minutes from time to secure all three points.
While Slot was pleased by the outcome, he is aware the cushion at the top does not guarantee a smooth run in their title challenge.
"It wasn't easy, like most of our games have been now," he told TNT Sport. "Aston Villa were maybe not as aggressive as we thought they would be.
"We were patient. One thing they are very good at is set-pieces. In general, we had control over the game and scored from two counter-attacks, which is maybe not what we would expect.
"If I look at the games that are ahead, they are tough. It will be a tough season in general. Margins are small, we have a margin, but it is small. [There are] many challenges to come for us."
Slot has got off to a fine start since succeeding Jurgen Klopp as manager at the start of the season, as he became just the fourth manager to win as many as nine of his first 11 Premier League games in charge, after John Gregory, Guus Hiddink, and Carlo Ancelotti.
Liverpool now have 28 points in the league. They have only previously equalled this total once after 11 games, in their title-winning season of 2019-20 (31).
Equally, no manager has ever won more points from their first 11 games in the competition than Slot. The Dutchman is not concerned by totals or margins, however, with his focus remaining on the philosophy he wants to instil at Anfield.
"As a manager, if you come into a new club, you don't think about how many points after how many games," he told BBC Match of the Day. "You think about changing the style or keeping it as it was.
"To change the style, you have to do a lot of things on the training ground and in meetings. The only thing I have thought about is how to implement the playing style, and how to make sure the players keep working as hard as they can."
FC Cincinnati 0-0 New York City FC (5-6 on pens): Ilenic sets up Hudson River derby
New York City FC will face the New York Red Bulls for a place in the Eastern Conference final after a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over FC Cincinnati.
In a shootout during which five spot-kicks were missed, Mitja Ilenic kept his cool to slam home and get NYCFC over the line after a 0-0 draw in Ohio.
Cincinnati, last season's Supporters' Shield winners, had the better of the chances at TQL Stadium, though NYCFC did have a goal disallowed midway through the second half, with Alonso Martínez having been flagged offside.
But Nick Cushing, who this week insisted he wanted to stay at NYCFC amid reported interest from Arsenal Women, saw his team get the job done in dramatic fashion.
NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, who made a crucial save to deny Luca Orellano on the half-hour mark, looked set to be the hero until his counterpart Roman Celentano thwarted Thiago Martins.
Freese's save from Gerardo Valenzuela then sparked a remarkable streak of five straight missed penalties, with Kevin O'Toole denied by Celentano, Chidozie Awaziem and Andres Perea blazing over, and Teenage Hadebe kept out by NYCFC's shot-stopper, before Ilenic finally showed how it was done.
NYCFC will now go up against their city rivals next week, while Cincinnati must lick their wounds heading into the offseason.
Data Debrief: Away form a concern for Cushing
While New York can celebrate making the Conference semi-finals, they have now won only one of their last 15 away games in all competitions.
Indeed, NYCFC have won just five of their last 41 road matches in all competitions since the start of the 2023 season.
Their meagre 0.28 expected goals (xG), compared to Cincinnati's 1.13, across the 90 minutes showed they were largely outplayed, and Cushing will be glad next week's semi-final will take place on home turf - with NYCFC the sixth seed, whereas the Red Bulls are the seventh.
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