United hope win a turning point

Manchester United’s stunning 43 comeback victory over Liverpool in extra time in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Sunday kept their trophy dreams alive and manager Erik ten Hag hopes it will also be the turning point in their Premier League fortunes.

Amad Diallo practically blew the roof off Old Trafford when he netted the winner in the 121st minute after Marcus Rashford equalised eight minutes earlier and the 12-times FA Cup winners booked a semifinal against second-tier Coventry City.

“This could be that [pivotal] moment where the team can really believe, and the energy too, that they can do amazing things,” Ten Hag said.

“And I think when you can beat Liverpool in the way we did, that you can beat any opponent, so it’s up to us to prove the point. I said this also on Friday [in the pregame press conference] — and today we did.”

United are sixth in the Premier League standings, 17 points behind Liverpool in second but, more importantly, they are nine points off fourth-placed Aston Villa in the race for a Champions League spot for next season — albeit with a game in hand.

Former United captain Roy Keane suggested Sunday’s thriller could galvanise the team, particularly the youngsters.

“A lot of players have never had Old Trafford bouncing like that. The feel-good factor for these players can be massive for the rest of the season,” Keane said on ITV.

United has indeed been a dreary place on many nights this season, but Sunday’s battle will go down as a classic.

“When it’s Manchester Untied against Liverpool, it’s one of the world’s best football matches. It is historical,” Ten Hag said. “I thought the first 35 minutes were the best I have seen from my team this season.”

United’s rivals and FA Cup holders Manchester City face Chelsea in the other semifinal at Wembley in April.

The semifinals draw is: Coventry City vs Manchester United; Manchester City vs Chelsea. The semifinals will be played at Wembley on the weekend of April 20-21.

The final will also be played at Wembley on May 25, six days after the last day of the Premier League season.

THE FEEL-GOOD FACTOR FOR THESE PLAYERS CAN BE MASSIVE FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON Roy Keane