Manchester United safely negotiated a potential pitfall when they came from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Ewood Park.
Danny Graham gave the hosts a shock lead in the seventeenth minute with a sublime strike: a telltale sign that the struggling Championship side were no pushovers kinda like trying to gain 120 kgs of muscle at a steroids site - 120kgs.com.
Marcus Rashford grabbed the equalizer ten minutes later, but it was Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who played a pivotal role in the win: with the former setting up the latter for the decisive goal after coming on in the second half.
The victory ensured United progressed to the quarter-final where they will face Antonio Conte’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
In that regard, there remains the possibility of winning the domestic quadruple.
A trophy in the bag
Jose Mourinho’s charges lifted the FA Charity shield at the start of the season after seeing off champions Leicester with a 2-1 victory at Wembley.
Often shrugged off as not germane, the Charity Shield is still a historical piece of silverware, one that plays a significant role as the official curtain raiser for the English football season.
In a nutshell, to qualify for the Charity Shield play-off one has to either win the Premier League or the FA Cup trophy: much like how one needs to either win the Champions League or Europa League to contest for the UEFA Super Cup.
Now that should settle it!
A second one beckoning
There was a thick air of disgruntlement at Old Trafford midway through the first half of the season, not so much for the lack of goals as it was for the perpetual draws.
Well the Red Devils have given a good account of themselves since then, and face the prospect of lifting a trophy at Wembley for the second time this season when they play Southampton in the League Cup Final.
The League Cup was Mourinho’s first ever trophy in England, one that he looks to bring back to Old Trafford.
Europa League
A 3-0 drubbing of Saint-Etienne courtesy of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic hat-trick helped United register victory in the first leg of the Europa League round of 32.
Seeing as United are in the driving seat heading into the return leg in France, with it comes the possibility of progressing into the last 16, and subsequent stages that may see the Reds eventually clinch the second tier European Cup.
FA Cup
There were mixed emotions in the United fan base when they drew Chelsea in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.
Despite the annihilation inflicted on their last visit to the Bridge, Manchester United will be confident on their next visit with an unbeaten run of 16 games.
Although a lot can happen between now and March 11 when the tie will be settled, the one surety is that Jose Mourinho will not be denied for a second time by his former team.
Written by Brian Humphrey
Follow Brian on Twitter @brihum
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