Erik ten Hag insists his players don t have a mentality problem after 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.
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 that saw Haji Wright convert a spot kick to take the game to extra time.
Man Utd showed character
United rode their luck, , and after the game Ten Hag admitted his side have to improve but also insisted they showed character .
Ten Hag said: It was an incredible game, a strange game too. We had total control for so long and then gave it away in the last part of the game. We did show resilience to win the penalty shootout.
We had control for 75 minutes and have to give Coventry a compliment for what they did in the last 15 minutes.
We have to improve. We talk a lot about this. First you have to put yourself in a winning position but then you have to take it over the line. In these moments we are making mistakes and not keeping our responsibilities.
We can t say this group doesn t have the right mentality because they showed character today, but in the final part there was a lack of discipline. We have to keep the ball, keep making passes, go for goal and then also be strong in defence. It s about communication and we have to improve on this.
Three Wembley finals in two years
Ten Hag admitted his team has mixed feelings after the game, but believes getting to another Wembley final is a huge achievement.
On the feeling in the group after the game: It s mixed feelings. We can be happy with the achievement, getting to the final, that s huge.
Even the big Manchester United only achieved it three times and we achieved it twice in two years. We need to win that final though. When we 100% in it then we can do it.
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