For weeks Sir Alex Ferguson insisted the Quintuple was an impossible goal.
What nobody expected was that Fergie himself would be responsible for ending United's hopes of a clean sweep and his own proud record of never having lost an FA Cup semi-final.
But his extraordinary team selection backfired as Everton took full advantage to claim a deserved penalty shoot-out win.
The United boss rarely admits when he is wrong. But when he sifts through the wreckage of this defeat, the finger of blame can only be pointed at himself.
Wayne Rooney may have been injured, but leaving Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester and starting with a line-up top-heavy with fringe and reserve players showed contempt for Everton, United's travelling fans and the heritage of the competition.
Much has been done in recent years to restore the magic of the FA Cup, but yesterday Fergie did his best to put it back in the shadows. While he had indicated he would make wholesale changes to keep his players fresh for the challenge on three fronts, nobody could have predicted he would leave out so many of his established stars.
Of the 11 selected, only Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic could claim to be automatic choices, while Fergie gambled by playing the likes of Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson, Federico Macheda and Brazilian twins Fabio and Rafael Da Silva. As revealed by Mirror Sport, Macheda, the teenager whose winning goals against Aston Villa and Sunderland have kept United ahead in the title race, was handed a first start. But he was unable to reproduce such heroics at Wembley.
When David Moyes and his Everton players saw Fergie's team they knew they would never have a better opportunity of reaching their first FA Cup Final since 1995, ironically when they beat United.
And although Everton made hard work of their triumph, they emerged as deserved winners, Phil Jagielka scoring the decisive penalty after Dimitar Berbatov and Ferdinand had missed theirs.
Moyes fielded a full-strength side in his quest to bring a trophy to Goodison Park after seven years in charge. And that is why justice was done. Moyes has transformed Everton since his appointment in March 2002 and there are few who would begrudge him the trophy his application and managerial acumen now warrant.
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A full-strength Chelsea team will prove much tougher to overcome than a second-string United side in the final, but Moyes and his players will be fresher than Guus Hiddink's side come the final and may yet provide a second Wembley upset.
For United, the task now is to ensure this defeat does not have a knock-on effect in their pursuit of the Premier League and Champions League, starting with the visit of Portsmouth to Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Despite winning their three previous penalty shoot-outs at the new Wembley, United have now managed just one goal there in five appearances.
Neither side showed any kind of conviction in front of goal, which ensured the spectre of extra-time and a penalty shoot-out was hanging over the drab contest all afternoon.
Fergie pointed to referee Mike Riley's refusal to award United a penalty in the 68th minute, when Jagielka brought down Welbeck, as the turning point in the game.
One wonders whether Riley would have given the spot-kick had the official not been embroiled in pre-match claims he favoured United, having handed them nine penalties in the past at Old Trafford.
Everton should have scored in the 107th minute, but substitute James Vaughan saw his shot blocked by Vidic.
When Tim Cahill blasted the first penalty of the shootout over the bar, it seemed United had the upper hand.
But Berbatov and Ferdinand's misses proved fatal for United.
( David McDonnell / Mirror )
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