Classic FA Cup semi-finals of the 21st Century

The magic of the cup is what it is known as.

The FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, has produced unforgettable drama throughout its 154-year history, and it’s expected to have more of its twists and turns with the addition of more semi-finals in the pipeline.

In a thrilling semi-final last year, Manchester United held on penalties to extend their three-goal lead over Championship side Coventry City.

With less than 20 minutes left, Coventry, which was led by former United striker Mark Robins, was well-beaten.

A stoppage-time penalty was then converted by Haji Wright to add extra time to the game.

Victor Torp believed he had won it in the final seconds of extra time, but the video assistant referee declared his goal uncorrupted for offside.

In the 2021-22 semi-final against Manchester City, Liverpool jumped to a 3-0 lead thanks to an Ibrahim Konate header and a Sadio Mane double.

However, a stirring second-half display from Pep Guardiola’s side almost led to one of the greatest comebacks.

Just two minutes after the first half, City won a penalty kick, and Bernardo Silva added a second to make the tension-filled finale.

One of Watford’s best FA Cup victories since 1984 led to the club reaching its first final.

With 11 minutes left, Wolves were 2-0 up before the FA Cup final, their first ever held in the FA Cup since 1960, thanks to Matt Doherty and Raul Jimenez.

However, the Hornets’ pivotal moment came with Gerard Deulofeu coming off the bench.

Before Troy Deeney’s 94th-minute penalty forced extra-time, the former Barcelona winger had just 11 minutes to score.

Chelsea defeated Tottenham in the 2016/17 FA Cup semi-final to earn a classic bench performance under Antonio Conte.

Willian scored twice for the Blues, but Spurs did it again thanks to Mauricio Pochettino’s comeback.

However, Chelsea’s momentum shifted as a result of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard’s comeback at the hour mark.

Sheffield United made history in 2013-14 by becoming the first third-tier club to reach the FA Cup final since the Football League expanded beyond two divisions.

And with a 2-1 lead against Premier League side Hull City in the second half, Jose Baxter and Stefan Scougall had given them a good start.

However, Stephen Quinn gave Hull a two-goal lead after Matty Fryatt and Tom Huddlestone scored inside the opening ten minutes of the second half.

Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over rivals Manchester City was a “noisy neighbours'” first FA Cup victory in 30 years.

Yaya Toure, who capitalized on Michael Carrick’s error after 52 minutes to put United together with 10 men after Paul Scholes was shown the yellow card, settled the tense situation.

Under Tony Pulis, Stoke City excelled defensively and had a pragmatic non-nonsense approach to solving problems rather than attacking problems. However, they tore up the script in the unforgettable FA Cup semi-final.

The Potters defeated Bolton Wanderers 5-0 in the final for the first time in their history, including three in the opening half, and made it 3-0 before halftime.

Within the first half hour, Stoke were up 3-0 thanks to Robert Huth, Kenwyne Jones, and Matthew Etherington.

When Portsmouth faced Tottenham in the semi-final of 2009-10, the odds were heavily stacked against them.

Pompey were already facing relegation from the Premier League because of a financial crisis, but they were still fighting.

After a goalless 90 minutes, Portsmouth rose nine minutes into extra time when they faced a Spurs team led by former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp and ex-Portsmouth stars Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch.