Manchester United set a date with its neighbor City in the final of the England Football Cup by beating Brighton 7-6 on penalties, after the end of the regular and extra time in a goalless draw Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London in the semi-finals.

This is the second final for United this season, after it was crowned with the League Cup title, ending a six-year title drought in the first season of Dutch coach Eric ten Hag.

The Red Devils will meet in the final at Wembley Stadium on the third of next June with neighbor Manchester City, who beat Sheffield United 3-0 on Saturday, and who is still fighting on the fronts of the League and the Champions League.

Manchester United entered the match after the disappointment of being eliminated from the European League competition "Europa League" at the hands of Seville in Spain, with a humiliating loss 0-3 Thursday in the second leg of the quarter-finals.

Compared to the Sevilla match, Ten Hag commented, "On Thursday I saw a team I did not know, but today we are back to normal. I could see determination and resilience. We fought for every ball and competed in every battle. We had good chances."

And he added about facing City, he said, "The key to winning against them? I will not tell you. I keep it for myself, but it takes us to present the perfect match to achieve that."

This is the 21st time that United have reached the England Cup final, equaling the record for Arsenal, and the first since 2018 when they lost to Chelsea, knowing that their last title dates back to 2016 at the expense of Crystal Palace.

As for Brighton, he was hoping to return to the final for only the second time in its history, and the first since 1983, when it fell to Manchester United 0-4 after the first match ended in a 2-2 draw (the previous system).

The cup final will witness the Manchester derby for the first time in history.

United's Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea commented on this confrontation, "It will be a big match against one of the best teams in Europe and the world. But we showed when we played against them at home that we can beat them."

And he continued, "We are on the right track: another title and final, and we are fighting for third or fourth places (in the league). This is not enough, but it is a big step from last season."
United missed defender Harry Maguire, who caused the first goal in Seville, due to the accumulation of warnings, with the continued absence of Argentine defense heart Lisandro Martinez until the end of the season due to injury, and Frenchman Rafael Varane, who is away for a while for the same reason.
Ten Hag pushed Block Shaw alongside the Swedish Victor Lindelof in the heart of the defense, while the Portuguese Diogo Dalot played in the left back position.

Portuguese Bruno Fernandes returned to the squad after being suspended against Sevilla.

Brighton is presenting a distinguished season, led by Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi, and will be able to rise to fifth place in the league if it wins its two postponed matches, while United ranks fourth.

Brighton threatened first with a free kick to Argentine Alexis McAllister, which was blocked by De Gea, who also gifted two goals to Seville, brilliantly turning the ball into a corner (7).

The first attempt at the goal for United came through Fernandes with a powerful shot from the outskirts of the area, which was saved by Spaniard Robert Sanchez (15).

At the end of the first half, the Red Devils had two chances through the Portuguese again, who hit a creeping ball that passed close to the post (44), before the goalkeeper pushed away a powerful shot from Danish Christian Eriksen (45 + 2).

Brighton started the second half in a better way, and Paraguayan Julio Enciso almost opened the score, had it not been for a wonderful save from De Gea with his powerful shot (57), and then another on the right side of Solly March (60).

Then Ten Hag pushed the Brazilian Fred instead of Eriksen after half an hour, but the danger remained for Brighton, and De Gea had to tackle another attempt from Marsh from the outskirts of the area in the bottom right corner (83).

Before the extra two halves, Ten Hag pushed Jaidon Sancho instead of Frenchman Anthony Martial.

United had the most dangerous opportunity with a powerful shot from Rashford on the outskirts of the area, which Sanchez removed in a wonderful way (105), before De Gea turned away another attempt by Marsh (107).

In the penalty shootout, the Brazilian Casemiro, the Portuguese Diogo Dalot, Sancho, Rashford, the Austrian Marcel Sabitzer, the Dutchman Vout Vighorst and Lindelof United scored, while Marsh missed the last kick after McAllister, the Germans Pascal Grob and Dennis Ondav, the Ecuadorean Pervis Estupinian, Luis scored. Dunk and Adam Webster for Brighton.