Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has insisted that his side 'showed resilience' to book their spot in the final of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Devils led 3-0 just before the hour against Coventry City, with the contest seemingly over, but the Championship side went on to score three times themselves to force extra time in the last-four encounter.
Coventry then looked to have won it in the final stages of extra-time, with Victor Torp netting from close range, but the goal was disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
Penalties were therefore needed to separate the sides, and Man United won the shootout 4-2 to advance to the final against Manchester City, and Ten Hag delivered his verdict shortly after the full-time whistle in the English capital.
"It was an incredible game, a strange game too. We had total control for so long and then gave it away in the last part of the game. We did show resilience to win the penalty shootout," he told ITV Sport.
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Erik ten Hag says Man United showed "resilience" at Wembley
"We had control for 75 minutes and have to give Coventry a compliment for what they did in the last 15 minutes. We have to improve. We talk a lot about this. First you have to put yourself in a winning position but then you have to take it over the line. In these moments we are making mistakes and not keeping our responsibilities.
"We can't say this group doesn't have the right mentality because they showed character today, but in the final part there was a lack of discipline.
"We have to keep the ball, keep making passes, go for goal and then also be strong in defence. It's about communication and we have to improve on this.
"It was about mentality in that moment (penalties). You have a plan and have full confidence so I told them to stick to the plan. I had confidence we would win the shootout. Normally Casemiro scores, we train them very well.
"It's mixed feelings. We can be happy with the achievement, getting to the final, that's huge. Even the big Manchester United only achieved it three times and we achieved it twice in two years. We need to win that final though. When we 100% in it then we can do it.
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Erik ten Hag says the Red Devils will now face "the best team in the world"
"I want to win it. I'm sure we have a good chance to win this final, although we play the best team in the world. We do have a chance though. We showed that this season.
"This season has had many ups but also many downs. Winning the FA Cup doesn't make it successful, we want to win more. We have been in three finals in two years, which is good, but we had a lot of setbacks this season.
"We've had a lot of injuries and hopefully those players can be back for the final. If we go with a squad who believe then we have a chance to win a trophy."
Man United will take on Man City in the FA Cup final on May 25 but will first finish their Premier League season, with the 20-time English champions having another six league games to play.
The Red Devils will end this month with back-to-back home fixtures against Sheffield United and Burnley before opening May with a trip to Crystal Palace.
Matt Law
