- Cottagers reduced to nine men at Old Trafford
- Ended up suffering a 3-1 defeat
- Coach unhappy with some big decisions
WHAT HAPPENED? Fulham’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United descended into chaos with 20 minutes left on the clock as Willian handled on the line when keeping out a Jadon Sancho shot. With a VAR review advised, Silva was ordered from the bench due to his protests. Mitrovic then lost his cool and put his hands on match official Chris Kavanagh, before Willian was given his marching orders for the initial offence. Serbian striker Mitrovic will likely be stung with a lengthy ban, with his manager admitting that everyone at Craven Cottage needs to learn how to keep their heads in the most testing of circumstances.
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WHAT THEY SAID: Silva told ITV Sport of Mitrovic’s dismissal: “In that moment he has to control his emotions much more like all of us should. You have to keep the emotional balance of course. Sometimes it is not easy but it is our obligation to do it. It's been a tough season in some moments for us. We know that we are Fulham, we don't have the same importance in football as some others but it's difficult for us to deal with some situation.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: There was never any doubt that United would be awarded a penalty once Willian handled, but Silva believes that Fulham could have had two spot-kicks of their own in the first half that were not checked by those in the VAR booth. He added: “You need to talk about the three [possible] penalties because you are just talking about one moment. You want to talk about the other moments in the box? Why don't you ask me about the other two moments as well? If you want I can talk about that moment [Willian's handball] but I talk about the others as well.”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Fulham now have several suspensions to contend with as they continue to push for a lofty finish in the Premier League, while United are through to a record-breaking 31st FA Cup semi-final – where they are due to face Brighton.
