Defending FA Cup champions, Manchester United visited Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers in the Fifth round of FA Cup 2017. They were in for a surprise as Blackburn took the lead inside first 20 minutes thanks to goal from striker Daniel Graham whos left footed shot beat Romeri in United goal. However United bounced back with a goal of their own when Marcus Rashford rounded of Blackburn keeper to slot home the equalizer.
Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Manchester United Highlights
[ Emirates FA Cup – Fifth Round 2017 ]
17′ 1 – 0 Daniel Graham scored inside first 20 minutes to stun Manchester United at Ewood Park.
27′ 1 – 1 Marcus Rashford scored on a swift counter attack move after rounding off the keeper and slotting home the equalizer. It was Mikhitaryan who created the goal with a great counter attacking run and defense splitting pass.
Match Highlights (English)
Jose Mourinho Post Match Interview:
Blackburn Rovers playing at home will go into the game as massive under dogs largely down to the fact they are struggling both on and off the field. However currently in bottom four of Championship, a win in FA Cup against mighty United will give a much needed boost for players and staff. Mourinho on the other hand has started his mind game with other top premier league managers and labeling them disrespectful for not taking the FA Cup seriously. We can safely assume United will put on a strong side.
Team News & Lineups: United do have some fitness worries with Michael Carrick, Rooney and Mikhitaryan all ruled out due to illness. While Mourinho might opt to rest the likes of Ibrahimovic which means Rashford, Lingard and Martial to start upfront with Ashley Young also in contention for a start.
Blackburn Rovers on the other hand will start with Conway and Graham with adventurous 4-4-2 system where Feeney, Mahoney, Guthrie and Evans will starting in midfield. This is How I expect both teams to lineup on Sunday evening.
Match Predictions: The beauty of United’s squad is even if Mourinho decided to make 6-7 changes they can still put up a very strong side and that is where potentially United slow start to the season can end as a trophy laden year. However this Blackburn game is a potential banana skin considering games coming thick and fast for United. Mourinho would take a bad 1-0 win just to be done with this tie. I am expecting a hard game for United this one and blackburn might take them to a replay.