Football: United ramp up pressure on Sarri

Manchester United's Ander Herrera, second left, scored the opening goal passing Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Photo / AP

Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba scored first-half goals as Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-0 yesterday at Stamford Bridge to advance to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

A rematch of last year's final won by Chelsea, Herrera put United ahead in the 31st minute and Pogba came through just before halftime to double the lead.

United had not played since losing 2-0 at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the opening leg of the Champions League round of 16 last week — Solskjaer's only defeat in 13 games as United interim boss.

"You want to see a reaction," Solskjaer said. "There's a balance between being too eager [and not] after losing a game, so this was brilliant."

The game took an odd twist late as Chelsea fans fed up with manager Maurizio Sarri joined their United counterparts in chanting for his firing.

Sarri, who replaced Antonio Conte in the off-season, went unbeaten in his first 18 games in all competitions but has won just six of 12 games since January 1.

"I can understand the situation and our fans, because the result wasn't really good," Sarri said. "We are out of the FA Cup, so I can understand. But I am worried about our results.

"We were unlucky. In the first half, we played better than the opponent and, at the end of the first half, it was 2-0 to them, so we played confused football in the second half.

"But, in the first half, we played well. We need, of course, more aggression, more determination."

Sarri's first two substitutions drew sarcastic applause from Chelsea fans and the last provoked chants of "you don't know what you're doing", followed by "you're getting sacked in the morning".

FA Cup draw
Quarter-finals, March 15-17
Millwall v Brighton
Swansea v Manchester City
Watford v Crystal Palace
Wolves v Manchester United

- AP