United 4 Liverpool 3: Raw noise and flailing limbs

 

"It took me a few hours to find any words for what happened on Sunday. I still don't have many! What a ridiculous, ridiculous game. The best of my life.

"I did pause to think as I walked over the Stretford End bridge, having stayed dancing in the ground for 20 minutes after full-time soaking it all in: this is the game I will talk about for the rest of my life. This was one of those special days that joins an elite group of games where the raw noise of Old Trafford helped carry a team of fighters over the line to the most incredible – genuinely, hardly believable – of results.

"Older Reds tell tales of Barca in '84, Liverpool in '99 or winners against City from Owen and Rooney. Now I feel like I have my own. PSG away and McTominay against City in 2020 come close in post-Sir Alex moments, but this trumps it all. That raw noise and those flailing limbs will stay with me as long as I live."

Harry Robinson

"Sometimes, this famous old ground of ours fizzes. It’s the only way I can describe it. It’s not an audible noise, but you can feel it, the sense of something extraordinary that might be about to happen. As Reds, we’ve seen our fair share of those kinds of moments, but yesterday was truly special. 

 

"The exhilarating back and forth between England’s most successful teams over the course of 120 minutes was breathless, a joy (though at times torturous) to witness, and the finale was something I’ll never forget. It was a performance that was 100 per cent MUFC – brave, exhilarating, committed. Old Trafford responded with the most vociferous support and was more than rewarded.

 

"These moments are even sweeter when with pals and family who you go with, week in week out, the shared joy only increasing the sheer jubilation. In those moments, there really is nothing on earth like being a Red. 

 

"We’re on the march with Ten Hag’s Army…"

Nathan Thomas

'I'M ALMOST GLAD RASHFORD MISSED!'

"My son, Georgie, predicted we were going to win 2-1 all day. He just felt we were going to win. At 2-1 down, he still said we were going to win. At 3-2 down, he still said: 'We're going to win this, Dad.'

"I was just so pleased for him, because although he's seen us beat Liverpool and City, that was probably the most significant win against either of them, because it meant something – regardless of whether we win the cup or not. It was a big, key game that meant so much, rather than a league game or something in February. This was a quarter-final, and the atmosphere was brilliant at times from our fans.

"You know what, it sounds daft, but I'm almost glad Marcus Rashford missed that chance in the last minute! Because it makes it even better, the way it turned out. It was a truly special day. I'm proud of the players, proud of the manager. It showed you that the players have got fight, they have got mettle.

"It was great to be there, great to share it with all my family. I'm in work today, on a 12-hour shift, but who cares? I'm absolutely walking round almost laughing to myself, singing 'Wemberlee!' in my head!"

Pete Boyle

(Watch Pete celebrating Marcus Rashford's equaliser with him in the tweet below!)

 

"How best to sum up being smack-bang in the middle of the Stretford End for Sunday's epic, titanic, shattering FA Cup win over Liverpool?

"My girlfriend's reaction is probably what will stay with me most. She was in tears when Rashford equalised, let alone when Amad snuck home that instantly iconic winner! Later she told me: "I genuinely thought I might be about to have a heart-attack." Thankfully, she soldiered through, and we shared one of the great hugs as demented, euphoric bodies flailed all around us after the fourth goal. Liverpool's dominant spell in the second half seemed a million years old as Garnacho surged forward and Old Trafford bellowed that trademark guttural roar.

"It was a game that swung hither and thither, but when our beloved old stadium gets a contest between its teeth, it becomes the most special football ground on Earth. That's what it was on Sunday. And the joy, the near-spiritual transcendence that we felt when that winner crept home is a memory we'll all treasure as long as our brains and our hearts have life in them. And isn't that what it's all about?

"As Alex Ferguson said after Giggs's goal against Arsenal in 1999: 'It could all blow up in our faces at the end of the day, but can you forget moments like this? Those supporters will be talking about that for years. The players will be talking about that for years... That’s what football’s about: trying to reach peaks and climaxes.'”

Joe Ganley

'THE WAY WE SUFFERED ELEVATED THE FINAL HIGH'

"We compiled a list of our 10 favourite Old Trafford cup occasions for Sunday’s United Review – times when fans and players combined to produce an all-time classic result and atmosphere. We can now add another to that list.

 

"You could sense there was something in the air as you approached the ground. The chatter in the concourse was more animated. The noise in the stands several notches louder. There were nerves, yes, but more a collective will to get behind the team and make a difference. It felt like a big occasion, like a last-chance game for us, and it played out exactly that way. 

 

"But what made it so special was the emotions suffered in getting to the eventual joyous outcome. Their two goals on the stroke of half-time. Pain. Watching them control the play after the break. Torture. Rashford’s miss at the end of normal time. So close. All of that merely elevated the high that was to come. Only football can give you a buzz like the one when Amad rolled that ball in off the post. In the 121st minute. Against Liverpool. For a 4-3 win. To take us to Wembley. MUFC. One love."