Man United sent FA Cup warning as 'little lucky' admission made

Man United face Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon as their FA Cup defence continues under Ruben Amorim

Manchester United host Fulham in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday afternoon (kick-off: 4:30pm) (Image: Getty Images)

Former Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira admits his Fulham side have extra motivation against the Reds for Sunday’s FA Cup clash.

The two teams met in the quarter-finals two seasons ago at Old Trafford. United were 1-0 down before being given a penalty just over 15 minutes before the end of the match when Willian blocked Jadon Sancho’s close-range shot with his arm. Referee Chris Kavanagh reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor before awarding a penalty and sending Willian off, causing chaos.

Mitrovic was so incensed by the decision that he shoved Kavanagh, earning him an immediate red card. Fulham manager Marco Silva was also dismissed for expressing his displeasure from the sidelines.

And Pereira, who made 75 appearances for the Reds before joining the Cottagers on a permanent deal in July 2022, has revealed that his team will be fired up for this weekend’s fixture. Fulham were also narrowly beaten 1-0 in both Premier League fixtures between the two sides this season.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said via FFCTV. “For me, it is going to be a particularly special game. We still have the feeling from the first year I was here, what happened. For sure, we’re going to be prepared for everything.

“It’s a special game, a special place for everyone I think. We played United twice this season and maybe they came out a little lucky. We learned a lot from these two games and I’m sure the players have extra fire in the belly to go against them.”

He added: “Last season we had some difficulties in away games and we focused on that this season. I think we’re more confident, we risk a little bit more but we are very solid defensively – I think one of the best teams away from home [in terms of] not conceding goals. We’re very a solid team and we’re trying to get our away shape even better and it’s happening this year.

“We have great confidence. We have a lot of quality players and we know what we can do. Sometimes it happens in football that you don’t win the game, but we always show that we are there.”