Di Maria gets red card, Welbeck scores to eliminate Man Utd

Arsenal won 2-1 against Man Utd at Old Trafford, winning a ticket to the FA Cup semi-finals on March 9.

Welbeck celebrates scoring against Man Utd. Photo: Reuters.

Antonio Valencia passed the ball, Danny Welbeck quickly ran down to score. This same image, in the past would have made Man Utd fans happy but now brings great disappointment.

Old Trafford was silent when Welbeck, who scored 29 goals for Man Utd, returned to score against David De Gea. It was even more disappointing for the Red Devils fans when that was the decisive goal that eliminated their team from the FA Cup.

The English striker did not hesitate to show his excitement when he personally finished off his former team. He did not play well throughout the match, but with just one moment of brilliance, Welbeck made everyone remember him. Arsenal ended seven years of not being able to win against Man Utd thanks to the former Red Devils player.

The victory helped Arsenal secure a ticket to the semi-finals, and possibly the final when the Gunners' opponents in the next round are only Reading or Bradford. Arsene Wenger's team has a great chance to defend the oldest Cup in England. Man Utd, on the other hand, face the second consecutive year of empty hands, with worries about the team's future.

The confrontation between Man Utd and Arsenal started off as exciting as fans expected but ended quite unexpectedly. The halftime break can be seen as a milestone dividing the scenario of the match. In the first half, both teams actively attacked, playing openly and excitingly like the top meetings many years ago. Nacho Monreal opened the score. Wayne Rooney quickly scored the equalizer.

In the second half, Man Utd brought victory to Arsenal by making two silly mistakes. One was from Valencia's pass that helped Welbeck score. The second was Angel Di Maria's undeserved red card with 15 minutes left, and he was behind. The Argentine midfielder could not keep his composure, reacted and pulled referee Michael Oliver's shirt when the referee judged him to be diving in an attack.

Louis Van Gaal sat silently on the coaching chair before the events of his team. He did not show much anger or disappointment. Maybe the Dutch strategist was too sad to react. Or he felt calm as he said before this match: "Winning a ticket to the Champions League is more important than winning the FA Cup".

Di Maria left the field holding his face for reacting to the referee. Photo: Reuters.

In the 25th minute, Chamberlain had a brilliant dribble, dominating the circle of Man Utd players and then passed the ball to the left wing for Monreal to run down and score the opening goal. Just four minutes later, Di Maria had an accurate cross, creating an opportunity for Rooney, who was unmarked, to head the ball close to the goal to equalize the score.

In the 61st minute, Valencia made a careless pass to their own half, allowing Welbeck to face goalkeeper De Gea and the former Man Utd player did not miss the opportunity to score to increase the score.

Near the end of the match, Januzaj fell in the penalty area but once again referee Oliver showed a yellow card, judging that the Man Utd player was diving.

In the final minutes of the match, Arsenal almost scored another goal from a quick counter-attack but Sanchez's final shot went wide. However, the one-goal difference was enough to send Arsenal through to the semi-finals.

According to VNE