Manchester United are through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, thanks to a 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Nemanja Matic played a part in both United goals, setting up Romelu Lukaku for the first and netting the second himself in the final 10 minutes to kill off a cup tie that failed to truly get going.
The game did spark into life with half an hour played, however, as recalled duo Anthony Martial and Juan Mata exchanged a number of passes inside the box before the latter sent a deflected shot wide.
From the resulting corner, the ball fell to the feet of Chris Smalling but he could only send it back off the outside of the upright after finally adjusting his feet.
Brighton enjoyed the odd spell of prolonged possession as they went in search of just a second win in 18 attempts against tonight’s opponents, coming close to making a breakthrough when Lewis Dunk powered a header on target for Sergio Romero to push aside.
Lukaku gave the home side a lead to protect with eight minutes of the first half to play, though, by making the most of a fine first-time delivery from Matic at the back post to head the ball past Tim Krul.
United’s record of having yet to concede in this season’s FA Cup came under serious threat in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, as Pascal Gross’s outside-of-the-boot attempt deflected inches wide and Romero was forced to make a few stops.
Having failed to get a single shot away of any note between half time and the 83rd minute, United finally killed the game off when Matic watched Ashley Young’s free kick all the way and guided it past Krul via his head.
Romero was being tested until the end, keeping out another couple of Gross shots, though in the end it was United celebrating a win that keeps them on course for a 13th triumph in this competition.