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19th Feb 2017

Man Utd fans left wanting despite win at Blackburn after fan favourite is left on the bench

They were singing his name from the get-go.

Tom Victor

Manchester United are through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup despite an unconvincing display away at Blackburn Rovers.

Zlatan Ibrahimović scored the winning goal as United recovered from going behind to emerge as 2-1 victors.

Ibrahimović had been on the pitch for less than 15 minutes when he finished coolly past Jason Steele after being played in by fellow substitute Paul Pogba.

The victory earned United a huge quarter-final meeting with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, giving José Mourinho a chance to get one over on his former club.

But it wasn’t all smiles for United fans, some of whom felt let down after an Old Trafford favourite was left on the bench at Ewood Park.

No, we’re not talking about Luke Shaw, though the England international was overlooked once again by Mourinho and didn’t make it onto the pitch.

United academy product Wes Brown was among the substitutes for Blackburn, having joined the club following his release by Sunderland.

Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Supporters were desperate to see him involved, even going as far as breaking into song.

If Blackburn had still been ahead going into the closing stages, perhaps we’d have seen the treble-winner get some game-time.

But when you’re chasing a game, as Owen Coyle’s team were in the final quarter of an hour, a 37-year-old centre-back probably isn’t who you want bolstering your attack.

United fans may have been calling out for Brown, almost from the first whistle, but they were left disappointed.

And, perhaps inevitably, there were calls for Mourinho to bring the academy graduate back home.

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