Why United's extra-time turnaround is so rare

Remember Erik ten Hag's men were trailing at half-time of the additional 30 minutes and yet, somehow, bounced back to win the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final tie with goals by Marcus Rashford and Amad, in front of the Stretford End.

A lot has been said about extra-time in recent years, how teams are often fearful to attack too much, ensuring goals can be scarce and a penalty shootout becomes more and more likely. Indeed, some pundits have, more than a little disappointingly, called for it to be scrapped altogether, with ties going straight to spot-kicks after 90 minutes.

So, with this in mind, just how rare is it that a side can be behind at the interval of the additional period, and then recover to win, without even needing the shootout to do it?

Well, we do not believe it is something the Reds have done before in our long and illustrious cup history, at home and abroad, in major competitions.

And it would appear it has not occurred too often in top-level football over the years.

By our reckoning, it has also never happened in World Cup history. There was a crazy semi-final in 1970, with five goals scored in extra-time at the Azteca Stadium between Italy and West Germany. However, although the Germans led, they slipped 3-2 behind to the Azzurri before the half was out and, despite equalising through Gerd Muller, lost 4-3.

There has been an example in the European Championship, when hosts France beat Portugal in the 1984 semi-final. Eight minutes into extra-time, Rui Jordao netted his second goal for Portugal to earn a 2-1 lead they held until the closing stages. Jean-Francois Domergue levelled before superstar midfielder Michel Platini's last-gap winner.

Focusing solely on the FA Cup, our friends at Opta have scanned all the data going back 11 seasons and found it had not happened in that time beyond the first round.

Cambridge United beat Dover Athletic in this manner in 2016, Crawley Town came back to knock Torquay United out four years later, and Bristol Rovers performed a miraculous turnaround in 2021, recovering from 3-1 down at half-time in extra-time to win 4-3.

All three of those ties came before the top-flight clubs entered the competition in the third round.

Arsenal trailed in extra-time to Liverpool, in the 1971 final, but equalised before the interval in going on to win 2-1 and complete the Double.

Hence, this is another reason to reflect on how United's achievement last weekend was just so magical.