Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United Live Commentary & Result, 23/04/2023, FA Cup

Thanks for joining our commentary today. Until next time, goodbye.

Both clubs return to Premier League action next week. Brighton are on the road to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, while United travel to face Tottenham on Thursday.

Manchester United advance to the FA Cup final to take on Manchester City on June 3 by beating Brighton and Hove Albion 7-6 on penalties after the game finished 0-0 after extra-time. Neither side could take their chances in 120 minutes of action before the contest went to penalties. The opening 12 spot-kicks were all successful, but Solly March was the unfortunate man to miss as he blazed his strike over the bar. Victor Lindelof was on point with his effort to send the Red Devils through to their second domestic final of the season.

FULL-TIME: BRIGHTON 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (MANCHESTER UNITED WIN 7-6 ON PENALTIES)

Lindelof can send United through to the final and does with a great penalty, high into the top-right corner. 6-7.

MISS! March is the first player to misfire as he blazes his left-foote strike over the bar. 6-6.

Weghorst slots his effort into the bottom-right corner, sending Sanchez the wrong way. 6-6.

Webster takes a short run-up and calmly places his effort into the bottom-right corner. 6-5.

Sabitzer has to score and does by the finest of margins as Sanchez gets a hand to the ball, but not enough to turn it away. 5-5.

Dunk faces a pressure kick for the Seagulls and nails his effort low and hard into the bottom-right corner. 5-4.

Rashford also missed for England in Euro 2020 final. He goes for a stutter-step run and dispatches his strike past the dive of Sanchez. A fine penalty. 4-4.

Estupinan successfully slots his effort past with a stutter-step, sending De Gea the wrong way. 4-3.

Sancho missed in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley as an England player, but he nails his kick with a stutter-step into the top-left corner. 3-3.

Undav didn't have the best of games after coming on as a substitute, but he holds his nerve to score with a strike across De Gea. 3-2.

Dalot gets United level in the shootout with a low strike with power that just beats Sanchez's hand into the bottom-right corner. 2-2.

Gross is next forward and fires his effort high into the top-right corner away from De Gea's dive. 2-1.

Casemiro has to answer back for the Red Devils and does with a low strike into the bottom-right corner. 1-1.

Mac Allister steps up for the Seagulls in the rain. The Argentina international curls his strike into the top-right corner. 1-0.

Brighton are up first from the spot. Mac Allister will take the first penalty.

This was the first FA Cup semi-final to go to a penalty shootout since Arsenal v Wigan Athletic in 2014, and first to finish goalless since Everton v Man Utd in 2009.

Manchester United have lost seven out of their last eight penalty shootouts.

We're heading to penalties in this FA Cup semi-final clash after neither side can force a breakthrough in 120 minutes of action.

120' + 1' FULL-TIME EXTRA-TIME: BRIGHTON 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED

120' There will be one minute of added time.

119' March bursts past two challenges on the right flank and keeps the ball alive on the byline. He looks for a cutback, but Shaw deflects it behind for a corner.

118' SAVE! Casemiro drives through the Brighton midfield and lines up a strike at goal that Sanchez watches all the way into his gloves.

117' Sancho angles a cross into the box, but he overhits his delivery out for a goal-kick.

116' Veltman brings down Weghorst on the left flank and hands United a free-kick in a useful position.

113' CHANCE! Brighton open the United defence through Mitoma, who combines with Mac Allister, but his first touch is poor and he has to lunge with his second and catches De Gea in the process. Another chance is spurned.

112' CLOSE! Casemiro does release Rashford on this occasion and the forward cuts inside to shoot on his right foot from the left flank. However, his effort drifts wide of the right post.

110' Rashford goes down in a tangle with Veltman as the forward looks for a ball over the top, but the referee gives the free-kick to the Seagulls.

109' Both sets of players are still showing great energy out on the field. There has been no lack of desire today, but the quality has just not been there in the final third.

107' SAVE! Caicedo wins possession before Undav feeds the run of March in the United half. Fred gets back to stop the winger shooting first-time, but he does manage to squeeze an effort at goal which is saved by De Gea.

106' We're back under way in extra-time.

We're still searching for a goal in this FA Cup semi-final clash. Marcus Rashford had the best chance of the half, but he was denied by Robert Sanchez. A big 15 minutes awaits both sides because if we don't find a winner, the contest is heading to penalties.

105' + 1' HALF-TIME EXTRA-TIME: BRIGHTON 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED

105' There is one minute of added time.

105' WHAT A SAVE! Sanchez denies Rashford with a super stop, diving to his left. Rashford takes aim from the edge of the box and his effort is deflected on its way to goal. Sanchez dives full stretch to his left and tips it wide of the target.

103' End to end again as Undav makes an interception and then fails to pick out Mitoma. United break back upfield, but no one is there to convert Fred's cross from the right flank.

W. Weghorst

Bruno Fernandes

101' Fernandes is surprised to see his number raised to be subtituted. The Portuguese has been excellent today, but is now replaced by Weghorst.

T. Malacia

A. Wan-Bissaka

101' Malacia enters the action for United to replace Wan-Bissaka. Dalot will move to right-back.

100' Mitoma surges forward and looks for the offload towards Undav, but the German is not expecting the pass and it trickles out for a goal-kick. Undav has not gotten up to speed.

98' WIDE! Sabitzer rises to attack an inviting cross from Sancho into the middle, but he glances his header just wide of the right post.

97' Caicedo launches a strike towards goal that looks to be troubling De Gea at one point, but the Spaniard sees it behind.

V. Lindelöf

Yellow Card

97' Lindelof pulls down Mac Allister on the charge and goes into the book.

94' CHANCE! Brighton open up the United defence as Mac Allister and Caicedo combine to release Undav in the box, but he takes a terrible first touch and allows Dalot to clear. That was a golden chance for the German.

93' Mitoma looks to thread the needle to release Undav in the final third, but Lindelof steps out to make a vital interception.

92' OVER! Mac Allister collects in the final third and looks for an early strike that he launches over the top.

91' We're back under way for the first half of extra-time.

M. Sabitzer

Antony

90' Antony is withdrawn before extra-time and is replaced by Sabitzer.

Neither side can force a breakthrough in 90 minutes, so the contest heads for extra-time. Brighton argubaly had the better chances in the second half as Juan Enciso forced a great save from David de Gea before Danny Welbeck headed over from a corner. United eed more from their star men in the final third, especially Marcus Rashford.

90' + 4' END OF 90 MINUTES: BRIGHTON 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED

K. Mitoma

Yellow Card

90' + 2' Mitoma catches Casemiro with his follow-through following a surge and he goes into the book.

90' + 1' Brighton win another corner, but March heads over at the back post from Gross' delivery.

90' There will be three minutes of added time.

89' End to end as both teams have corners that are cleared easily. The game needs a moment of quality otherwise it will be extra-time.

87' OVER! United build down the left flank and Sancho collects inside the box, only to bend his effort over the top with the aid of a deflection.

J. Sancho

A. Martial

85' Martial makes way for United in the final third and is replaced by Sancho.

85' Brighton win a free-kick from an Antony foul on Mac Allister, but Gross catches Estupinan unawares with a short pass and the defender fouls Antony.

83' SAVE! March cuts inside on his left foot and goes for a goal with a low strike. De Gea sees it late, but he makes the save and gathers at the second attempt. He takes a blow in the process and wins a free-kick.

80' March looks for Gross on the overlap down the right flank, but Fred is on the cover and smashes it against the midfielder to win a goal-kick.

78' Rashford collects Dalot's offload down the left flank and looks to run at Veltman, but he overruns the ball and sends it behind for a goal-kick. Rashford has been off the boil today.

76' Antony capitalises on a mistake by Mitoma and he looks for Fred in the box. However, Fernandes takes it away from his team-mate before sending his cross straight into the arms of Sanchez.

D. Undav

D. Welbeck

75' Welbeck is forced off for Brighton and is replaced by Undav in the final third.

73' Welbeck goes for the give and go with Gross and looks to collect the offload. Lindelof gets across quickly and snuffs out the chance for the Seagulls, while Welbeck remains down after their collision.

69' The game is heading towards an exciting climax here. Both teams are pressing for the first goal, which is looking increasingly like it will decide the contest.

J. Veltman

J. Enciso

67' Enciso is withdrawn for the Seagulls after a productive game. Veltman enters the action and will drop into right-back, which moves Gross into midfield and Mac Allister behind Welbeck.

66' BLOCK AND OVER! Poor from Fernandes from the resulting free-kick as he sends his first effort into the wall before launching the rebound well over the top.

64' Rashford turns with menace on the edge of the box and is brought down by Enciso. United have a free-kick in a dangerous position.

64' SAVE! Fernandes rolls the ball to Antony in the final third and he drops his shoulder to open up space for a strike that is well savedf by Sanchez.

Fred

C. Eriksen

62' Eriksen is withdrawn as he still works his way back to fitness. Fred replaces the Dane.

61' United put the pressure on as Antony breaks into box, but the winger, Fernandes and Casemiro cannot force efforts towards goal amid desperate defending from the Seagulls.

60' SAVE! March twists and turns down the right flank and has support in the middle. He goes for a goal on his right foot, forcing a stop by De Gea who turns it away from goal.

59' Antony has acres of room on the break and has support from Fernandes. However, he goes for goal alone and sends a tame strike straight at Sanchez.

58' WELBECK HAS TO SCORE! Gross swings a perfect cross to the back post for Welbeck to attack. He rises to connect with the cross, but he plants his header over he top.

56' WHAT A SAVE! De Gea produces a fine reaction stop turn Enciso's drive over the top. United are exposed at the back as Lindelof had to head Webster's header clear in the six-yard box. Mitoma pounces on the rebound, but his effort is charged down. Enciso is the next Brighton player to have a strike and his effort requires a super save from the United keeper.

55' Mitoma has space to run at Wan-Bissaka down the left flank, but the United defender does well under pressure to win back possession.

54' March whips a free-kick into the box, but Enciso cannot force a strike towards goal from the angle. United are able to clear the danger amid a scramble in the box.

L. Shaw

Yellow Card

53' Shaw brings down Caicedo on the charge and goes into the book.

50' OVER! Dunk heads Gross' corner back to Estupinan on the edge of the box, but he slices his effort harmlessly over the bar.

49' March asks questions of the United defence and he wins a corner down the right flank for the Seagulls.

48' March probes in the final third and he forces a mistake from Casemiro. He looks to shoot, but gets crowded out before he can get his effort away.

47' Antony surges forward on a counter for United and looks for Martial in the middle, but his cross is cleared by Webster.

46' We're back under way at Wembley.

There is very little between the two sides. Roberto De Zerbi will be satisfied with the way his team started the game, although will feel that United were starting to gain control. Erik ten Hag will be looking for a clinical edge from his side in the second half after missing a couple of good opportunities after opening up the Brighton backline.

It's goalless at the break in the FA Cup semi-final clash between Brighton and Manchester United. David de Gea was on point to deny Alexis Mac Allister from a free-kick early in the contest before Bruno Fernandes had two good chances to break the deadlock for United, but was denied by Robert Sanchez and then he fired inches wide of the target. The contest is very much in the balance at the interval.

45' + 4' HALF-TIME: BRIGHTON 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED

45' + 3' Brighton break just before the interval and Estupinan floats a cross into the box, but Lindelof clears for the Red Devils.

45' + 2' SAVE! Eriksen releases Rashford down the right flank and the forwards sends a cutback across the box for the Dane to collect. Eriksen shoots first-time, but does not make clean contact allowing Sanchez to save with his boot.

45' There will be three minutes of added time.

45' CHANCE! Fernandes wins the ball from Dunk and offloads straight to Martial, who sees Sanchez well off his line. He goes for an early strike, only to lift his effort well over the bar.

44' INCHES WIDE! Fernandes collects Casemiro's pass and bursts into the inside-right channel. He fires low and hard at goal, but his effort creeps inches wide of the left post.

42' Mitoma has space to break forward for the Seagulls on a counter, but he sends his offload behind March on the charge and forces the winger to turn backwards.

40' Dalot makes a probing run down the left flank and he wins a corner off the legs of Caicedo.

38' Martial gets caught from behind by Webster with a lunge and gives away a free-kick, but the defender escapes a booking much to the fury of United.

Casemiro

Yellow Card

36' Casemiro lunges in hard on Mac Allister and goes into the book. A needless one from the Brazilian.

34' Antony cuts inside from the right flank and he angles a cross into the box that Sanchez claims with ease.

32' WIDE! Enciso fires inches wide. Mitoma breaks at the United defence, only to be halted by a brilliant challenge by Wan-Bissaka on the edge of the box. The loose ball falls straight to Enciso to shoot, but he sends his first-time effort wide of the right post.

30' Estupinan releases Mitoma down the left flank and he breaks past Wan-Bissaka to clip a cross into the box. The ball flashes across the face of goal, but there's no Brighton player there to convert.

28' Mac Allister releases March down the right flank and he looks for Welbeck in the box, but his delivery is deflected behind for a corner by Dalot.

26' Rashford is back on his feet and Fernandes returns to the field for United, much to the relief of Ten Hag.

25' Fernandes leaves the field for further treatment and now Rashford goes down after colliding with Gross. These stoppages have slowed the pace of the game.

23' Fernandes is down for the Red Devils as he turns his ankle on the turf. He requires treatment before the game can resume.

22' The game is being played at a rapid rate. Neither side are backing down from the challenge.

20' March has treatment and appears to want to give it a go. De Zerbi will not want to lose one of his key men.

19' March goes down under pressure from Dalot in a collision on the right flank. There was not much in the coming together, but the winger has hurt his ankle.

17' BLOCK! Fernandes finds space in the Brighton box as the game flows from one end to the other. He collects a pass from Antony and takes a touch, but his strike is blocked by Dunk.

16' SCUFFS! March and Gross open up United down the right flank, and the latter sends a cutback into the middle. Welbeck slices his effort, but the rebound falls to Mitoma. He tries to shoot on the turn, only to scuff his attempt wide of the target.

15' SAVE! Eriksen works the ball into the feet of Fernandes on the edge of the the Brighton box. He turns and shoots on his right foot, only to be denied by a sharp save from Sanchez.

13' WIDE! Gross and March combine to release Enciso in the box, who takes a touch, but stabs his right-footed strike wide of the left post.

11' Brighton are applying a high press on the Red Devils at the back, making it very difficult for them to work the ball out of their own half.

9' A long ball over the top from De Gea almost falls for Eriksen and Rashford both in acres of space in the Brighton half, but the bounce favours the Seagulls as it travels at speed to Sanchez.

7' SAVE! Mac Allister curls the resulting free-kick towards goal and De Gea almost loses sight of the ball in the sun. However, the Spaniard does enough to turn it past the post.

5' Mitoma weaves his way into the final third and he cuts across Antony and goes down under pressure from the winger. The referee awards Brighton a free-kick on the edge of the box.

3' Rashford has space to run after collecting Fernandes' offload, but Brighton get men back to crowd out the forward before he can shoot.

1' We're under way at Wembley.

Manchester United have won all five of their FA Cup ties against Brighton, most recently in the 2017-18 quarter-final.

United make three changes to their side from their defeat to Sevilla. Shaw comes into the back four to replace the suspended Harry Maguire. Sancho drops out of the side for Rashford, while Fernandes returns from his suspension to replace Sabitzer.

De Zerbi makes two changes to his side that beat Chelsea last time out. Enciso gets the start for the Seagulls in an attacking midfield role as Veltman drops to the bench. Gross drops into right-back to replace the Dutchman. Welbeck gets the nod in the final third in the absence of the injured Evan Ferguson.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS; Tyrell Malacia, Marcel Sabitzer, Fred, Jadon Sancho, Wout Weghorst, Facundo Pellistri, Jack Butland, Brandon Williams, Anthony Elanga.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, Diogo Dalot; Casemiro, Christian Eriksen; Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Antony; Anthony Martial.

BRIGHTON SUBS: Levi Colwill, Denis Undav, Jason Steele, Yasin Ayari, Billy Gilmour, Jan-Paul van Hecke, Joel Veltman, Facundo Buonanotte, Odeluga Offiah.

BRIGHTON (4-2-3-1): Robert Sanchez; Pascal Gross, Adam Webster, Lewis Dunk, Pervis Estupinan; Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister; Solly March, Juan Enciso, Kaoru Mitoma; Danny Welbeck.

Manchester United need to pick themselves up after crashing out of the Europa League with a poor performance in a 3-0 defeat to Sevilla. Erik ten Hag's men were all over the place defensively and were duly punished. United now return back to Wembley where they won the EFL Cup earlier in the season with a 2-0 win over Newcastle. The Red Devils can overcome a disappointing exit from Europe by reaching their second cup final of the season today.

Brighton are looking to reach the FA Cup final for the first time since 1983, where they coincidentally lost to Manchester United. The Seagulls have been in excellent form in the Premier League and FA Cup, defeating Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Stoke and Grimsby to reach this stage of the competition. Roberto De Zerbi's men have lost only one of their last nine games, and defeated Chelsea 2-1 in the Premier League last week. They have momentum on their side ahead of the semi-final duel with United.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the FA Cup semi-final clash between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester United at Wembley.

Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United Live Commentary, 23/04/2023

Key Events

Match Stats

Commentary