FA Cup calamity for Manchester United as Kelechi Iheanacho double sends Leicester into semis
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Updated 21/03/2021 at 23:07 GMT
FA Cup quarter-final, King Power Stadium - Leicester City 3 (Iheanacho 24, 78, Tielemans 52) Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 38)
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Leicester City will play Southampton for a place in the FA Cup final after a Kelechi Iheanacho brace helped the Foxes to a 3-1 win over Manchester United at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester were the better side in the first half, and their intense pressing style paid off when an under-pressure Fred played the ball straight to Iheanacho in the box – a chance that the in-form forward duly lapped up.
A lacklustre United struggled to click throughout the opening period, but the visitors went in level at the break thanks to Mason Greenwood’s tidy finish after good work from Paul Pogba down the left.
Brendan Rodgers’ side picked up where they left off after the interval however, and they regained the lead thanks to a superb solo goal from Youri Tielemans.
United tried to rescue a result with a quadruple substitution midway through the second half, but it was to no avail, with Leicester the team to find the fourth goal of the game – stretching their lead through a Iheanacho back-post header.
The semi-final against Southampton will be held at Wembley on the weekend of April 17-18.
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Youri Tielemans of Leicester City celebrates with Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City and Jamie Vardy of Leicester City after scoring to make it 2-1 during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Leicester City and Manchester United
Image credit: Getty Images
Talking Point – Just how good are Leicester City?
Leicester City haven’t received as much praise as they deserve this season. Brendan Rodgers’ side are the often-unmentioned success story of the Premier League campaign so far, seemingly cruising towards Champions League qualification and still five points clear of fourth-place Chelsea. And that has been no fluke. Leicester are a talented side, expertly coached by Rodgers, and they showed that again today in the FA Cup with a richly deserved win.
Of the two teams it was Leicester who looked more assured at the back, more composed in midfield, and more threatening up top. They have that balance of being able to brush aside weaker opponents and also threaten better sides, particularly with their threat on the break. Southampton will do well to prevent the Foxes reaching the final in May, and you wouldn’t bet against them getting one over City or Chelsea if they do get there too.
Man of the Match – Youri Tielemans (Leicester City)
There were a number of impressive performances from Leicester, not least the two-goal hero Iheanacho, but it was Tielemans who ran the show for the home side, completely controlling the midfield battle throughout. The Belgian oozes quality on the ball, quietly dictating Leicester’s play, but he made sure that everyone noticed his class with the goal, which was superbly taken after a clever run. The sky is the limit for the 23-year-old.
Player Ratings
Leicester City: Schmeichel 7; Fofana 7, Evans 7, Söyüncü 7; Albrighton 7, Ndidi 8, Tielemans 9, Castagne 7, Perez 6, Iheanacho 8, Vardy 7. Subs: Praet 6, Choudhury 6.
Manchester United: Henderson 6; Wan-Bissaka 6, Lindelof 6, Maguire 5, Telles 6; Fred 3, Matic 3, Pogba 5, Van de Beek 3, Martial 5, Greenwood 6. Subs: Shaw 6, Cavani 6, Fernandes 6, McTominay 4, Diallo 6.
Key Moments
24’ GOAL! – Maguire’s pass out puts Fred under unnecessary pressure, but the midfielder still should do pretty much anything other than lay it back straight to Leicester’s in-form forward. Iheanacho is never going to turn down an opportunity like that, and rounds the keep with ease to tuck home. 1-0.
38’ GOAL! – Pogba does really well down the left to open up space for a cross, and Van de Beek lets it run through his legs for Greenwood to slot home behind him. 1-1.
52’ GOAL! – Tielemans plays a clever one-two to leave Matic for dead and then breezes past Fred before arrowing a shot from into the bottom corner. That was class.
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Mason Greenwood of Manchester United celebrates scoring a goal to make the score 1-1 with Paul Pogba during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Leicester City and Manchester United at The King Power Stadium
Image credit: Getty Images
58’ – Vardy bursts through one-on-one as Leicester again press United into a mistake, but he snatches at the chance and shoots wide of the near post. That should have been Leicester’s third and could be a big moment in the match.
64’ – This is quite the statement from Solskjaer. Manchester United make four changes at the same time, completely reshuffling the pack. Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay replace Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Donny van de Beek and Alex Telles.
78’ GOAL! – A deep free-kick picks out Iheanacho at the back post (partly due to a horrible misjudgement from McTominay) and the Leicester striker makes no mistake.
Key Stats
- This is the first time that Leicester have reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup since 1982. They have lost five quarter-finals in that time.
- Defeat was United’s first away from home against English opponents in 30 matches.
- Iheanacho has 15 goal contributions (11 goals and 4 assists) in his last 15 starts for Leicester.
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