Inhale as well. All that was quite amazing, wasn’t it? Manchester United appeared to be gone by the time there were three minutes left in standard time.

An unlikely hero stood in the way of an FA Cup elimination that, at the time of the draw, felt all but inevitable.

Although Antony has been demonised for several completely meaningless football spins, this one, in which he turned on a six-pence inside the area as the game was about to end, was anything but.

Before yesterday’s cup match, the Brazilian had only scored one goal this season. However, he put on a display that justified his £82 million transfer. Finally, isn’t that right? Before shoving the ball into the net with his right foot, he executed a beautiful turn.

Diallo, Amad, Anthony, Man, United
Extra time was about to begin because the scores were tied at 2-2, but United’s hopes were again dashed when Harvey Elliott scored via a deflection. Rethink your thoughts. Marcus Rashford came up, followed by an even more unexpected hero in the persona of Amad Diallo.

The Ivorian cooly struck the back of the net on the counterattack as extra time turned into injury time. It caused chaos, pure joy, and, rather amusingly, a second yellow card for the child who showered in celebration. Isn’t it all a little ridiculous?

Still, even if we didn’t learn anything new about Kobbie Mainoo, this time around we did learn a lot about Erik ten Hag and his group. He is still a really unique gift.

Kobbie Mainoo’s numerical performance

Mainoo’s exclusion from Gareth Southgate’s England team when it was revealed a few days ago may have surprised some.

Yes, he is only eighteen, but this midfielder has the entire world at his disposal. He is effortlessly leading United’s centre areas, but as we’ve seen with a former elite player like Casemiro, that’s no small feat.

But his playground is Old Trafford. Like the greats of old, he commanded the room. While it may be premature to include him in the same discourse as Paul Scholes and others, a few more years of this kind of performance will make it inevitable.

Without a doubt, Mainoo’s moment with England will arrive. Unless there are some late injuries, a call-up to the Euros is now improbable, but Ten Hag will undoubtedly be happy with his top prodigy.

Garnacho-Ten-Hag Mainoo
He is currently an undroppable player having only been benched twice since making his debut for the squad in late November. The teenager demonstrated this on Sunday by giving the best performance of the season in the team’s largest match.

The youthful player completed 82% of his passes, won 70% of his duels, and, astonishingly, successfully completed all four of his dribbling attempts. It’s easy to conclude that this was a respectable day at work when you add three interceptions and a crucial pass to the mix.

Liverpool against Mainoo

Played minutes

80

Feels

57

Precise passing

31 out of 38 (82%)

Pass keys

1.

Attempts at Dribble

4/4

Duels prevailed.

7 out of 10.

Interceptions

3.

Attacks

2.

Numbers from Sofascore.

However, Ten Hag’s roster features other undroppable figures than Mainoo. Let me introduce Diogo Dalot.

Why Man Utd can no longer discard Diogo Dalot

Shortly after Dalot secured a contract in the northwest of England, Aaron Wan-Bissaka signed with United, and the Portuguese full-back probably feared for his job.

A £50 million acquisition who was recognised for his exceptional defensive tenacity arrived. This was not good news for Dalot, a right-back who was more focused on attacking.

Diogo, Dalot, Man, and UTD
However, events have transpired quite differently. Wan-Bissaka has had a rollercoaster of a season at Old Trafford, having missed 21 games due to injury this season before making a comeback from the bench on Sunday.

Dalot has been able to establish himself this season, particularly at his preferred position, thanks to his impressive injury history. His skill has been hindered by having to play left-back 17 times in his United career, eight of those instances coming in 2023–2024. However, he ought to be undroppable for the Dutch boss currently on the right side.

In the FA Cup quarterfinals over Liverpool, he demonstrated this as well. Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News gave the Portugal international an 8/10 after the match, stating on social media that he had displayed “remarkable endurance” to play the entire 120 minutes.

Described as “sensational” by content creator Liam Canning, the defender’s performance was outstanding, as he collected 72 touches, which was second only to captain Bruno Fernandes among all United players.

Usually known for barreling forward, he was only able to make one crucial pass and no dribbles on this particular occasion. Dalot, on the other hand, was excellent at the back, with three tackles and an astounding six clearances.

Wan-Bissaka put on a fantastic display in a titanic match between two rivals, so you would assume he would have to wait a bit longer to regain his starting position at right-back. Dalot should remain there since he has been excellent.