Leicester 3-1 Man United: Foxes fly into FA Cup semi-finals

Leicester City are into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1982, thanks to two goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and one from Youri Tielemans.

Brendan Rodgers marked his 100th game in charge of Leicester in style, as the Foxes felled Manchester United for the first time since 2014’s historic 5-3. With Southampton journeying to the King Power in the next round, Leicester will have one eye on the final as they aim to end their torrid record of four FA Cup final appearances without a win, the most of any club.

The Foxes started slowly, struggling to gain any initial control of the ball as Manchester United pressed effectively high up the pitch. Gradually, the home side grew in confidence, forcing successive mistakes from the Red Devils until Kelechi Iheanacho opened the scoring in the 24th minute. A rogue back-pass from the Brazilian Fred was intercepted by the Nigerian, who rounded Dean Henderson and slotted home.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men struggled to gain a foothold in the game, but managed to fashion a well-worked goal 14 minutes later against the run of play. Donny Van de Beek’s dummy off of Paul Pogba’s cross found Mason Greenwood, who made no mistake. For the Foxes’ dominance, the game entered half-time all square.

However, City weren’t disheartened in the slightest, and looked to re-exercise their control on the game in the second half. Just seven minutes later, United’s defence backed off, leaving Youri Tielemans the space to drive into the bottom corner, putting Leicester City ahead for a second time.

Jamie Vardy had a chance to make in 3-1 following a trademark run just minutes later, but astoundingly dragged the ball just wide of the target. A flurry of Manchester United changes followed, with as many as four players making way as Solskjær tried to claw something back from this game.

What followed was a nerve-wracking 20 minutes for Leicester supporters. Manchester United launched ball after ball into the Foxes’ half, with a goal looking likely. However, it was the home side who got the next goal as Kelechi Iheanacho rose to meet Marc Albrighton’s set-piece delivery at the back post, sealing the game in the process.

All in all, it was an extremely complete performance from Leicester, especially given the number of absences from their starting XI. Despite their disappointing exit from the Europa League, a cup final is looking a real possibility if Leicester play their cards right, even if the fans aren’t there to see it.