Jimenez, Jota slay United as Wolves reach FA Cup semis

By Richard Martin

WOLVERHAMPTON, England, March 16 (Reuters) – Wolverhampton Wanderers reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1998 by beating last year’s runners-up Manchester United 2-1 with a clinical second-half display in an intense atmosphere at their Molineux stadium on Saturday.

Mexican forward Raul Jimenez sent the home fans into a frenzy with a scrappy finish to break the deadlock in the 70th minute, snatching at the ball on the turn and beating keeper Sergio Romero who had made two outstanding saves.

Diogo Jota put the home side further ahead with a brilliant solo strike in the 76th, bursting through on the break and fighting off Luke Shaw before blasting the ball past Romero.

United had a red card for defender Victor Lindelof overturned by VAR and Marcus Rashford pulled a goal back in added time but there was no time left to mount a comeback and they fell to a second defeat in a row for the first time since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as manager in December.

Despite the late scare, it was a fully deserved victory for Wolves who edged the first half and utterly dominated the second.

With their fans singing “We’re on our way back”, Wolves savoured another huge Cup victory after knocking out Liverpool in the third round and will now have a Wembley semi-final to add to their many highlights in a hugely impressive first season back in the Premier League.