Man Utd beats Tottenham to reach FA Cup final
Manchester United inflicted yet more FA Cup semifinal misery on Tottenham Hotspur as it recovered from a poor start to win 2-1 at a packed Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Tottenham, playing on the ground which has been its temporary home all season, got off to a dream start when Dele Alli (11) scored from close range but Alexis Sanchez (24) equalized with a header and Ander Herrera (62) fired United’s winner midway through the second half.
While United can look forward to the prospect of finishing the season with some silverware, Tottenham must pick itself up after an eighth successive FA Cup semifinal loss.
Standing between United and a record-equaling 13th FA Cup triumph will be Chelsea or Southampton, who play on Sunday.
Wenger to leave Arsenal after two decades in charge
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is to stand down at the end of the season after a reign of almost 22 years during which he redefined the Premier League club and became its most successful boss.
The longest-serving current manager in English soccer, with 1,228 games in charge, had faced increasing criticism from fans, however, for the Gunners’ failure to sustain a serious title challenge in recent seasons.
“After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season,” the 68-yearold Frenchman said in a statement issued by the club on Friday.
“I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years. I managed the club with full commitment and integrity,” added Wenger, who urged the fans to stand behind the team and end the season on a high.
Wenger signed a two-year contract extension in 2017 and had said he planned to see it out despite calls for him to be replaced. “My personal situation is not so much my worry at the moment,” he had told reporters on Thursday when asked about his future.
“My worry is to transform a season with many disappointments away from home into a success, and that’s what matters to me.”
The Gunners are a distant sixth in the league, 14 points adrift of fourthplaced North London rival Tottenham Hotspur with five games remaining.
They are also in the semifinals of the Europa League, a tournament which represents their only realistic route to the lucrative Champions League next season.
The club said a successor would be appointed as soon as possible with German Thomas Tuchel, out of work since leaving Borussia Dortmund almost a year ago, installed as one of the early bookmakers’ favorites.
Arsenal’s majority owner Stan Kroenke said it was “one of the most difficult days we have ever had in all our years in sport.”
“One of the main reasons we got involved with Arsenal was because of what Arsene has brought to the club on and off the pitch,” he said.
“His longevity and consistency over such a sustained period at the highest level of the game will never be matched.”
Wenger was virtually unknown to many fans when he arrived from Japan’s Nagoya Grampus Eight to take charge at the old Highbury ground at a time when foreign managers were still a rarity. “Arsene Who?” read one banner. They soon found out who he was and what he stood for – with diets, training methods and playing style all overhauled and a new ethos installed.
The chants of ‘boring, boring Arsenal’, heard as much from frustrated Arsenal fans as rival supporters in the early 1990s, became ironic and Wenger was hailed as a ‘miracle worker’ and visionary.
Together, they won three Premier League titles – including in 2003/04 when his ‘Invincibles’ went unbeaten for an entire season – and seven FA Cups. He took Arsenal into the Champions League for 20 years in a row.
They won the league and FA cup double in 1998 and 2002.
Meanwhile, Salomon Rondon completed a remarkable West Bromwich Albion comeback from two goals down against Liverpool although the hard-won point from a 2-2 draw at the Hawthorns on Saturday will probably only delay its relegation.
The visitors appeared to have half an eye on Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal against AS Roma but still established a comfortable lead through Danny Ings and Mo Salah.
With Salah notching up his 31st of the season to equal Luis Suarez’s club record for goals in a season, Liverpool appeared to have done enough to take the points.
But Jake Livermore scrambled a goal from a corner after 79 minutes to give Albion hope and the equalizer followed another set piece in the 88th minute when Chris Brunt delivered a perfect free kick into the area for Rondon to head home. (Reuters)