Manchester United defender Luke Shaw says he was ready to take a penalty in the shootout if he was needed to.
Manchester United beat Brighton 7-6 on spot-kicks after a 0-0 draw in 90 minutes.
Victor Lindelof scored the winning penalty after Solly March had blazed one over the bar.
The win booked a place in the final against Manchester City on Saturday June 3. Get that one in the diary.
Shaw says he was ready
Luke Shaw was not chosen as one of Manchester United’s penalty takers, but he did say after the game that he was ready to step up if he was asked.
The England defender revealed United had spent time practising ahead of the semi-final, and it showed.
He complimented Victor Lindelof for the way he had taken them in training, saying he had no doubt the Swede had scored.
If Lindelof had missed, then sudden death would have continued. Shaw says he would have been ready to step up – and even said he was confident enough to go in the first five if required.
Shaw told MUTV: “I’d rather have been in the first five, to be honest! [than sudden death].
“It’s never nice waiting and waiting, and knowing it’s your time soon. But I was confident that if I had to step up, I’d score. I was ready but, luckily enough, Victor put it away and won it for us.
“We’ve practised penalties a lot in training and Victor’s got beautiful technique, so, when he stepped up, I was confident he wouldn’t miss.”
Fortunately we didn’t need to see if Shaw was right, that he would have scored. Lindelof buried his spot-kick and that was the end of the game.
Manchester United will be heading back to Wembley, and hopefully won’t need penalties to see off City.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
