“Total waste of time”- Fans react to Manchester City v Sheffield United’s boring first half at FA Cup

Riyad Mahrez's penalty kick was the difference between the two sides till half-time.

“Total waste of time”- Fans react to Manchester City v Sheffield United’s boring first half at FA Cup

Manchester City lead Sheffield United by one goal in the first Semi-Final of the Emirates FA Cup. Both teams are second in their respective leagues with similar ambitions on a different scale. The Blades were hoping to win automatic promotion and hopefully win the EFL Championship. The Cityzens are hoping to achieve a historic treble and are not too far from achieving it.

Despite Pep Guardiola’s team being heavy favourites in the clash, the Blades were the ones with the first clear chance of the match. Egan’s corner found Ndiaye, who struck the ball in the bottom right corner but was denied by Ortega. However, the Cityzens took control from there on and dominated the game since that point. Erling Haaland seemed to have put the Blue half of Manchester in the lead but was adjudged to have fouled Cristian Norwood in the buildup.

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The disallowed goal seemed to bring some life into the game. Previously the game was dominated by City, but the Blades started to threaten a bit more since then. Sheffield United’s game plan seemed simple, to try and win the ball back deep, and launch counter-attacks. The most threatening moment up to the half-hour mark was Bernardo Silva’s cross. In the 28th minute, the Portuguese’s cross was deflected off of Norwood and nearly snuck in the bottom corner.

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Manchester City had shouts for a penalty seven minutes after the half-hour mark. Julian Alvarez’s shot was blocked and cleared by John Egan, but the ball seemed to have ricocheted off his arm. However, the referee denied those claims, and play continued.

However, Manchester City’s resolve finally saw them through when the Blades conceded a penalty. Silva was fouled in the area by Jebbison’s outstretched leg and Mahrez stepped up to take the spot kick. The Algerian sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and made it 1-0 to the Cityzens. The half ended soon thereafter and City went into the break the more content of the two sides.

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Fans react to a “boring” first half

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Image credits: The Guardian

Many fans believed that the first half of the contest was boring. Neither side could muster up a serious charge, and neither goalkeeper was troubled. However, Riyad Mahrez’s spot-kick did change the complexion of the match, and the Blades would definitely start attacking in the second half. The fans were also surprised to see the Algerian take the penalty. Here are some of the best tweets of the first half.

https://twitter.com/MCFC__BH/status/1649813307543437315?s=20

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