Herrera calls for calm after Wembley win

Ander Herrera insists Manchester United must not get carried away with the Emirates FA Cup semi-final victory over Tottenham Hotspur and has called on the squad to “prepare properly” for the final.

Herrera scored the second-half winner at Wembley on Saturday as the Reds came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 and reached a record-equalling 20th cup final.

Dele Alli put Spurs ahead early on but Man of the Match Alexis Sanchez equalised with a superb header, before Herrera fired home to book a return to Wembley against either Chelsea or Southampton on 19 May.

There were great scenes of celebration in the red half of the national stadium but, speaking exclusively to MUTV after the game, Herrera remained level-headed.

“We have won nothing yet,” the Spaniard stated. “We all have to stay calm and prepare for the final properly. We still have to play a final and a final at Wembley is always a special game; you never know what can happen.

“So let’s prepare properly, but now let’s focus on Arsenal (United’s next league game) because we want to finish the season in second.”

Herrera arrived late in the box to net the decisive 62nd-minute strike from Alexis’s cross, despite the midfielder playing a more defensive role in a 4-3-3 formation at Wembley.

“I know I have to keep the balance of the team, sometimes with Nemanja (Matic), because we have Paul (Pogba) who is a fantastic player who can create everything,” Herrera continued.

“So we have to leave him sometimes free and I have to be more next to Nemanja, but try to sometimes be in those positions where I can score, and I did it.

“They (Tottenham) are very talented, they play with a lot of players in attack,” he added. “I think they have also a fantastic manager, who is creating problems for the opponents, so today was about suffering. We knew we were going to fight sometimes and defend together.”