Chronicle EditorLONDON. — Chasing a gilded finale to a difficult season, Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United face an Everton team reeling from Merseyside derby humiliation in today’s first FA Cup soccer semi-final at Wembley.
Van Gaal found himself back in the media’s crosshairs following a 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, but not for the first time this season, his side responded with a timely burst of wins.
Victory at West Ham United in their FA Cup quarter-final replay provided the spur for back-to-back league wins over Aston Villa and Crystal Palace that have bolstered United’s quest for Champions League qualification and they will travel to London with renewed confidence.
“We are further than last year,” Van Gaal said of his side’s FA Cup progress. “Then it was the quarter-final, now it is the semi-final. It means we are better than last year.
“We are in the semi-final and still in the race for fourth. That was our aim.”
A long, dark English winter is threatening to burst into a far more pleasant spring for Van Gaal, who is seeking to steer United to a first FA Cup final since they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in 2007.
Uncertainty surrounding the Dutchman’s Old Trafford future continues to swirl, with Jose Mourinho and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino continually touted as potential successors in the British press.
But success in the FA Cup, which United last lifted in 2004, allied to a top-four finish in the English Premier League would strengthen Van Gaal’s hand greatly as he approaches the final year of his three-year contract.
Furthermore, United’s line-up in recent weeks has demonstrated the commitment to youth that helped Van Gaal land the job in the first place.
Marcus Rashford, the 18-year-old striker who only made his debut in February, continues to play, and score, with the coolness of a seasoned professional and his displays have been supplemented by the verve of fellow forwards Anthony Martial (20) and 23-year-old Jesse Lingard.
The trio’s displays have meant that captain Wayne Rooney, back in action after a knee injury, has had to drop into a midfield role, which is where he is likely to play if selected against his old club today.
While the worm may be turning, albeit slowly, for Van Gaal, the same cannot be said of Everton manager Roberto Martinez, who is living through the blackest days of his Goodison Park tenure.
A run of seven games without victory in the league has definitively ended Everton’s European ambitions and Wednesday’s 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool left the Spaniard looking exposed.
And Martinez is urging Everton to put their poor Premier League form behind them when they face Manchester United in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley today.
The Toffees travel down to London just days after an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Liverpool in this week’s Merseyside derby raised fresh questions about Everton manager Martinez’s future at Goodison Park.
Defeat by their local rivals means Everton have now gone seven games without a league victory and added to the pressure on Spanish boss Martinez.
Everton could yet salvage their season if they go on to win a first major trophy in 21 years by lifting the FA Cup.
But first they must see off an increasingly in-form United and Everton’s task has not been made easier by the fact that full-back Seamus Coleman and skipper Phil Jagielka both have hamstring problems.
Central defender John Stones faces a fitness test after coming off with stomach cramps against Liverpool and experienced midfielder Gareth Barry has a groin problem.
Everton will also definitely be without Ramiro Funes Mori after the centre-back was sent off for a reckless challenge on Liverpool’s Divock Origi at Anfield.
But Martinez, who guided Wigan to a shock 1-0 win over Manchester City in the 2013 FA Cup final, said Everton had it in them to disregard their troubles.
“We carry hurt and that’s normal after what happened in the last game, but clearly the focus is about the opportunity of being in the semi-final of the FA Cup,” he said.
“Since the quarter-final against Chelsea, results haven’t been good enough, and that’s something we’ll try to look into next week when we face the next league game.
“We’ve got four league games left and we’ll try to give everything we’ve got.
“But at the moment everything is about the semi-final and everything is about taking our football club to Wembley with a really strong feeling of being together, of facing adversity in an exemplary way and being as good as we can in front of a very strong opposition.”
As for the speculation and fan protests regarding his own position, Martinez said: “I wouldn’t be professional if I would be using my time on talking about what people think and what the feeling is around the manager.
“My position is to use the time as well as we can to prepare the team, to get everyone ready for the next game. The turnaround has been very, very quick but all that matters is how quickly we can get focused for the semi-final.
“We’ve been working very hard since I arrived at the football club to be able to be at Wembley, to be very close to challenging for silverware, and that’s the opportunity we have.”
Fixtures
Today (6:15pm): Everton v Manchester United
Tomorrow (5pm): Crystal Palace v Watford. — AFP
Online Reporter