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It was a historic day for Leicester City as they sent Manchester United crashing out of the FA Cup to reach their first-ever semi-final since the 1981/82 season. Goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Youri Tielemans sealed the Red Devils' fate as they were beaten 3-1 on the night, with Mason Greenwood scoring Manchester United's only goal at the King Power.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made the most high-profile change to his lineup as talismanic star Bruno Fernandes was dropped to the bench for workload management reasons. Marcus Rashford was not in the squad due to an injury, and was replaced by the returning Anthony Martial. Leicester's goalscoring hero Kelechi Iheanacho partnered Jamie Vardy in the attack for Brendan Rodgers.
The first half ended all square with the scoreline at 1-1 after the Red Devils were the architects of their own downfall.
25 minutes in, the visitors tried to play their way out of the back and Fred gifted Leicester City the opener with a questionable pass to Dean Henderson which was intercepted by Kelechi Iheanacho. The Nigerian international calmly beat Henderson and slotted the ball into an empty net.
The Foxes began to grow into the game and exert more pressure on the visitors who eventually found the way back into the knockout fixture via Mason Greenwood. Paul Pogba's superb work on the left of Leicester's box was followed up by a measured ball into the box, and Greenwood, benefitting from Donny van de Beek's dummy, smashed the ball past Kasper Schmeichel.
Leicester City began the second half like a side possessed as they launched wave after wave of attacks on the Manchester United goal. Youri Tielemans provided the impetus for Brendan Rodgers' side as he followed up his darting run towards the Red Devils' box with a fantastic finish to find the far corner.
Foxes legend Jamie Vardy could have effectively killed the tie with a pacy run into the box after he breezed past ex-teammate Harry Maguire, but the Englishman dragged his shot wide. Leicester continued to capitalise on Manchester United's lacklustre defending and ended up punishing them.
Manchester United boss Solskjaer responded just over ten minutes later with four changes in one go, bringing on the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani, and other onto the pitch to up the ante. The changes came close to paying off as there was a remarkable shift in the balance of the game, with the Red Devils pushing up in numbers.
It was all in vain, however, as Iheanacho — undoubtedly the man of the moment for the high-flying Foxes — sealed their berth in the FA Cup semi-final with his side's third goal in the 78th minute.
Marc Albrighton's free-kick was slotted in by the former Manchester City striker in the far post, beating a towering Scott McTominay to do so. He has continued his incredible run of form in recent matches and was one of the most impressive players on the pitch.
With that goal, Manchester United's hopes of a comeback were significantly reduced and the spark brought upon by the string of changes had also vanished. Bruno Fernandes was afforded a free-kick opportunity to peg one back but the Portuguese's effort was saved brilliantly by Schiechel, who was excellent on the night in general.
Rodgers' hunt for a first trophy in England took a massive step in the right direction as they set themselves up for a semi-final clash against Southampton. Manchester United, on the other hand, now have one less avenue to win a trophy this year with the UEFA Europa League being the only realistic goal remaining.
The loss also sees Manchester United's stunning domestic away run — stretching back to January 2020 with a loss against Liverpool — come to an end.
Here are the best tweets from the game!
