Ten Hag under mounting pressure at Man Utd despite reaching FA Cup final

LONDON: Manchester United have kept their season alive by reaching the FA Cup final for a second straight year but their chaotic display against Coventry leaves manager Erik ten Hag under intense pressure.

United were cruising at 3-0 up against the Championship side with 20 minutes to go at Wembley on Sunday (Apr 21) before their staggering collapse.

The Premier League club had VAR to thank for escaping a humiliating 4-3 defeat in the final moments of extra time.

Victor Torp's "winner" sent scores of United fans scurrying for the exits before they realised the goal had been ruled out for a marginal offside.

Even then there was still time for more drama, with Casemiro failing to convert United's first penalty in the shootout before they eventually prevailed 4-2.

Ten Hag admitted his team "got away with it" but denied it was an embarrassment, preferring instead to focus on the achievement of reaching the final against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

"I see we can play at very high levels but in the same match we can also go very low," he said. "That's not explainable. It has to do with managing the game.

"I have to teach my players, clearly. We have to do better in such occasions.

"On several occasions, we've let the result slip away but today we got away with it."

Harry Maguire, the only fit central defender at the club, said United showed "great character" to find a way past Coventry, managed by former Red Devils striker Mark Robins.

But will Ten Hag be given the time he needs as he fends off a rising tide of criticism?

The Dutchman appeared to be on an upward curve in his first season in charge in 2022/23, ending a six-year trophy drought by lifting the League Cup and finishing third in the Premier League.

But any lingering