FA Cup: Kelechi Iheanacho Dumps Manchester United
A brace from Super Eagles and Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho was enough to dump Manchester United out of the Emirates FA Cup after a 3-1 victory at the King Power stadium.
Leicester City were without James Maddison, James Justin, Harvey Barnes and Ricardo Pereira through injury, however, the foxes pressed United early in the game and were rewarded after an error when United tried to pass their way out from the back.
The Nigerian international took advantage of a horrible pass from Manchester United midfielder Fred and rounded the Leicester City goalkeeper to score his 12th goal in 18 FA Cup appearances.
The goal seemed to spark the red devils into life and they equalised seven minutes before the halftime break. Paul Pogba found space on the left and his cross was dummied by Donny Van de Beek for Mason Greenwood to equalise from eight yards.
In the second half, Leicester continued to press and regained its lead after six minutes through Belgium international Youri Tielemans.
The midfielder exchanged passes with Iheanacho, beating the United defence in the process and allowing Tielemans to fire a lovely shot beyond the reach of Manchester goalkeeper Dean Henderson from 18 yards.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sent on Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw, Edinson Cavani and Scott McTominay with 25 minutes left to reinforce the United attack as they looked to fight their way back into the game.
However, the changes failed to inspire the visitors as Iheanacho wrapped up the game with a back-post header with 10 minutes remaining, netting his seventh goal in his last four appearances.
Manchester United put pressure on the hosts, however, Leicester held firm right to the very end, with Schmeichel making a great save from a Fernandes free-kick.
Leicester’s win sets up a first FA Cup semi-final since 1982 for the club, while United’s only hope of silverware this season now comes in the form of the Europa League.
Congratulations to @LCFC on booking their Wembley place! They will face Southampton in the #EmiratesFACup Semi-Final
