Man Utd clash with Norwich in FA Cup breaks TV viewing figures post-resumption of 6.4m viewers on BBC
MANCHESTER UNITED’S FA Cup win over Norwich set a post-resumption TV audience record.
Some 6.4m viewers tuned in to BBC 1 for the Carrow Road clash, with a peak audience of 5m.
A further 1.7m watched the match on the BBC website.
Sunday’s clash between Newcastle and Manchester City also had a peak of 5m with a total BBC 1 audience of 5.1m and 1.1m online viewers.
United will now play Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Frank Lampard hunt down their first major trophies in management.
United fans will be optimistic as their side heads to the capital for another match-up with Chelsea, having won all three of their meetings this season.
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Sunday’s draw also placed Arsenal against Man City in next month’s clashes.
The ties will be played behind closed doors at Wembley on July 18 and 19, before an August 1 final.
United were the first to book their place in the semi-finals but had to rely on extra-time to bypass ten-man Norwich.
Harry Maguire struck in the 117th minute at Carrow Road as they seek a first FA Cup win in four years.
Meanwhile, Odion Oghalo wrote his name into United history books after equalling a scoring record set 95 years ago.
Until the weekend, no Red Devil had scored on their first four competitive starts for the club since local lad Jimmy Hanson back in 1925.
But that wait was over on Sunday afternoon when Ighalo smartly shinned home an effort past Tim Krul in the Norwich net to give United the lead at Carrow Road.
His first goal came at Old Trafford in the European tie with Club Brugge.
And the second and third arrived shortly after in quick succession against Derby County.
A fourth flowed behind-closed-doors in Austria against LASK.
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And the fifth, pulling him level with Hanson’s record of scoring in his first four starts, came in the 51st minute in Norfolk on Saturday evening.
United’s next game is a trip to Brighton in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
But one man who will not be involved is Angel Gomes, who is leaving Old Trafford after failing to agree a new contract.