WATCH: Sanchez, Hererra Secure FA Cup Comeback for Man United Against Tottenham
A record-tying 29th FA Cup semi final for Manchester United was crowned with a victory, as Jose Mourinho's men came from a goal down to beat Tottenham at Wembley with goals from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera.
As the rain started to fall on a glorious London evening, Tottenham and United stepped out onto the Wembley grass to a scintillating roar from both sets of supporters to get the FA Cup semi final weekend under way.
Spurs dominated from the first whistle when these two met at Wembley in January, when they scored within 11 seconds from Christian Eriksen, but it was Romelu Lukaku who had the first chance when he got a yard on Jan Vertonghen before heading over from a few yards out.
However, it was the Dane who was the difference early on yet again when Paul Pogba was caught out of position from an incredible long pass from Davinson Sanchez, which allowed Eriksen to wonderfully fire the ball across the box to be clinically tapped in by Dele Alli as Tottenham took a 1-0 lead on the 10 minute mark.
Mauricio Pochettino's men continued to create chances and United struggled to cope with the high tempo and consistent pressure from Spurs.
Harry Kane came within inches of making it two just minutes after Alli's goal, using every fiber of his frame to try and notch in Spurs' 19th goal of this FA Cup campaign but could not get to the Alli pass.
As Jose Mourinho continued to watch and take notes on his side's weak start to the game, Paul Pogba's influence increased, as the midfielder started to flow more freely out on the left wing, and it was 13 minutes later that the Frenchman whipped in a delightful ball for Alexis Sanchez who headed home to equalize, scoring his sixth goal in six games at Wembley.
This mouthwatering FA Cup tie continued to entice viewers and the first half became a tale of two halves within itself, as once Sanchez scored on the 23rd minute Spurs' dominance faded and Manchester United continued to test Michel Vorm.
Jesse Lingard missing a golden opportunity to score his fourth goal in five Wembley appearances, spurning a header from yards out.
United continued to probe, but it was Eric Dier who came the closest before half time, as the Englishmen rifled a shot from outside the area onto the post and David de Gea was left standing.
The Wembley faithful were slightly subdued at the start of the semi-final, as neither side could really get a grip on the game. Spurs saw more of the ball in the early stages, but it was Ander Herrera who smashed the ball past Vorm from a clever, precise Alexis Sanchez lay off.
Despite the Spurs faithful roaring with every breath, United controlled possession, cranked up the pressure and Paul Pogba began to control the game with creativity and hard work all over the pitch, alongside the tenacious defensive work of Herrera in midfield.
Mourinho's men continued to test the Spurs back line. Romelu Lukaku came within inches of making it three, and Paul Pogba forced not one but two impressive saves from the Spurs keeper.
Eventually, push came to shove, and Pochettino had to make changes. On came Lucas Moura to add creativity and Victor Wanyama to try and control the free-flowing Pogba in midfield. It was just moments later when Spurs' best chance of the half arrived, as Christen Eriksen cleanly struck the ball from distance, only to see the ball narrowly miss De Gea's goal.
Although Tottenham threatened at times and saw much of the ball, the midfield trio of Nemanja Matic, Pogba and Herrera managed to retain enough possession and broke up play to see United over the line, with Ander Herrea's brilliant strike sending the Red Devils to their 20th FA Cup final.
