Manchester United’s hopes of a cup treble in Jose Mourinho’s maiden season as manager are over after they were knocked out of the FA Cup at the hands of the Portuguese’s former club Chelsea on Monday night.
A spirited performance from the ten men left on the pitch, after Ander Herrera’s controversial dismissal in the 35th minute, was not enough to see the Red Devils through to the semi-finals in order to defend their trophy, as N’Golo Kante’s goal and sensational performance saw Antonio Conte through to his first Wembley clash.
Although Mourinho will have been determined to secure every title on offer this season, especially considering his old club are running away with the title, the FA Cup loss has not caused to much upset amongst United fans on social media.
It will be a blow to the Portuguese, however, with a Europa League round of 16 second leg coming up this week, there is no time to dwell on the loss.
With the tie currently at 1-1 against FC Rostov, the former Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager will be confident in his side’s ability to book their place in the quarter-finals, especially with the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is only suspended for domestic encounters plus United can rely on the fit again Mkhitaryan to deliver that bit of magic in front of goal.
Having missed Premier League clashes against Southampton and Manchester City in recent weeks, due to EFL and FA Cup commitments, the squad have a busy running coming up over the next couple of months and, having lost out in the cup will be hell-bent on breaking that top four.
With the disappointing draw with Bournemouth at Old Trafford keeping Mourinho’s side out of the top four and still in sixth, the next two against Middlesbrough and West Brom, two sides who – like the Cherries – should be being easily dispatched by United, carry even more significance.
United have continually dropped important points at home, however, with the FA Cup out of their minds the focus on the Premier League can only increase and, with Arsenal in meltdown, Liverpool having a poor start to the calendar year and no one know which Manchester City side could turn up, the Red Devils will certainly still fancy their chances of a spot in that top four.