Manchester United beat Arsenal on penalties to make it to the fourth round of the FA Cup

Manchester United have enjoyed an encouraging start to 2025 after ending 2024 on a rotten run of form. The Red Devils lost their last four games in December as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham Hotspur and beaten by Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle United in the Premier League - without scoring a goal.

However, two impressive performances to start the year have raised optimism levels around Old Trafford. United battled for a deserved 2-2 draw at Anfield on January 5 as they took the lead on Merseyside before falling behind only to rescue a point through Amad - who recently penned a new long-term deal.

On Sunday, Ruben Amorim’s side advanced to the next round of the FA Cup as they beat Arsenal on penalties in a dramatic contest at the Emirates Stadium. The visitors took the lead through a fine Bruno Fernandes goal but then had Diogo Dalot send off for a second bookable offence. Gunners defender Gabriel equalised two minutes later with a precise finish. The home side were awarded a penalty when Kai Havertz went down under a challenge from Harry Maguire.

United players were furious about the decision. After the game, Amorim said: "Yeah, it's far away. The players told me that it was not a penalty, but let's move on. We go to the next round and focus on the next game."

Fernandes hails Altay Bayındır heroics

Altay Bayındır was named as goalkeeper in place of Andre Onana despite a tough outing against Tottenham Hotspur last month. However, he firmly put that behind him as he saved Martin Odegaard’s penalty and then kept out Havertz’s spot-kick in the shootout. It gave Joshua Zirkzee the chance to seal victory for United as he converted in front of the travelling supporters to set up a fourth round tie with Leicester City.

After the game, Fernandes hailed Bayındır’s performance and said the goalkeeper is always top class in training. Fernandes said: "It's a big moment for him, the first penalty and another save here and we are really happy for him. It's tough to be second goalkeeper, he came here to play, whenever he gets his chance he's top class for us, he's top class in training, he's always available for everyone and he truly deserves this moment."

Amorim delighted with penalty save

After the fixture, United boss Amorim was full of pride in his side as he noted how significant the penalty save was. He said: "It was really important because [it] gives us more strength, and then with less one player, he's really hard to press. It's really hard to press a team like Arsenal with 11 players, imagine with 10 players, and then you are in [a] disadvantage, [it] is really hard because they can control the ball. They were already controlling the ball in a lot of moments. So it was vital to win the game, to draw the game."

He added: "I think we play, especially in the first half, we play better [than] in the first game. We were better in set pieces today, more aggressive. We show different spirit, even with 10 men. We are improving on that aspect. I think we had a lot of difficulties in the beginning of the game to control the game with the ball and then we suffered, not big opportunities, but we suffered running after the ball, especially to switch of play, to win the first pressure of Arsenal.

“But then we can take in this moment, take the game to a different level when we talk about aggressivity. And that is a very good thing. We managed to score and then I felt in that moment we were able to improve with the ball, but with the [player] sent off [it] was really hard on us. And then we suffered all together, defending very well, with some opportunities from Arsenal. The players were really tired, but I felt since the first minute that today was our day. And I felt also a connection with our fans, our staff. It was a very good day for us in that aspect. We need to improve the way we play football."