It was another week of mixed emotions for Manchester United. Even though they were embarrassingly knocked out of the Europa League, they beat Brighton on penalties to reach the FA Cup Final.

Thursday night in Seville was a complete mess in all honesty. The team once again showed some of its worst qualities and buckled under the pressure of a hostile away crowd, something that has occurred way too frequently this season.

It was a nightmare start and within ten minutes United was one goal down after a mistake at the back involving David De Gea and Harry Maguire. There’s been some debate about who is at fault for the goal but in my opinion, they're both equally to blame.

De Gea shouldn’t have given his captain the ball under pressure from three Sevilla players but at the same time, Maguire asked for the ball. Had Maguire scanned behind him he could have turned into space but instead gave the ball away in his own penalty area.

Sevilla doubled their lead just after half-time and the final nail in United’s European coffin was struck following another De Gea mistake. Misjudging the flight of the ball and failing to clear his lines, giving an open goal for En-Nesyri to score his second of the game. The match finished 3-0 and Ten Hag was furious with his team.

The manager said he didn’t recognise his team on Thursday, but it's one we’ve occasionally seen rear its ugly head. Games away to Liverpool, City and Newcastle all bore similar capitulations.

After such a woeful defeat it was hard to be filled with confidence going into the Semi-Final against Brighton. However, United did well to restrict De Zerbi’s side to creating very little at Wembley. Even though the game itself was far from entertaining, the Reds were assured defensively.

United did very little to create opportunities for themselves and after a goalless 120 minutes, the game went to penalties. Again, confidence wasn’t high given United’s poor recent record in shootouts. The last time the team won on penalties was in 2019 against Rochdale.

It’s funny how these things work out because Brighton’s Robert Sanchez was in goal for Rochdale that day and was once again beaten by United from spot kicks.

Solly March was the first to blink, blazing his penalty over the bar before Victor Lindelof scored the decisive goal, to send United back to Wembley in the Final.

This now means that both Manchester United’s men’s and women’s teams will be competing in the FA Cup final. As Marc Skinner’s side also beat Brighton, setting up a clash against Chelsea, whereas Ten Hag’s team take on Manchester City.

Has there ever been a bigger Manchester Derby? Maybe not since 2012 when both clubs were chasing the league title. But given United now has the opportunity to stop a potential Manchester City treble, this could be a historic match.

However, Ten Hag has called for his players to ignore this and focus on the here and now. And next for United is a trip to Spurs. A win would give United an even stronger position in the top four and hopefully ease the pressure with further testing fixtures looming.

Just like every other game in the Premier League, it won't be easy, but it is an opportunity to pick up a big result and start to right the wrongs of multiple disappointments away from home.

Despite the league position and two cup finals secured, Ten Hag will still be disappointed not to reach a European final. However, there are definite signs of improvement at Old Trafford, with plenty of work still to be done.

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