Manchester United beat Brighton 7-6 in a penalty shootout to confirm their place in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Both sides couldn’t break the deadlock during the 90 minutes or the half an hour of extra time and Solly March was the unlucky man who sent his penalty over the crossbar.
The all-Manchester FA Cup final will be played on June 3.
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It was still a tight game for United, but they played to their strengths, and that ultimately led to victory despite a valiant battle from Brighton.
Brighton created enough good chances to win the game and, on another day, would have done exactly that.
Speaking after the game, De Zerbi revealed that he and his players were upset in the dressing room, but his focus is already on the battle for a Europa League spot.
“It’s football. We are disappointed and very sad,” the Brighton boss told BBC Sport.
“We played a great game. We have a lot of injuries and we suffered due to this situation. It’s sad for us and for our fans.
“Usually in penalties the winner is the one who doesn’t deserve it. We made some mistakes in the final pass around the goal area but I’m really pleased with the performance from my players.
“We have to close this page and think about the next game on Wednesday in Nottingham. We have a lot of games and want to get into Europe.”
Ten Hag: We have proved that we can beat Manchester City
As a reward for winning today, United face the unenviable task of a Wembley meeting with rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final on June 3.
It will be tough to overcome Pep Guardiola’s side at Wembley, but United came from behind to win against them at Old Trafford in January.
“We have proved that we can beat them, but we have to play the perfect game,” said the Dutchman.
“That was the best game we played this season and we have to go again. We know that but, first of all, we have to focus on different occasions and on different games because we have to be in the top four to get into the Champions League.”
Heading into the penalty shootout, it would have been impossible for Rashford and Sancho to forget their missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final in the same stadium.
However, they both took excellent penalties and helped their side into the FA Cup final.
“From Rashy and Jadon, we knew that (they missed in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley), but we knew that they are comfortable taking penalties and they dealt with it,” said Ten Hag after the game.
“They are so calm and composed with penalties in training and I know (a match situation) is a different occasion, but it’s great that they had the experience, it will help them for the future.”
