Football writer Ninad Barbadikar analyses Friday night's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Old Trafford.
Manchester United 2-1 Leicester City
Harry Maguire’s late winner for Manchester United against former club Leicester City booked a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup for the Red Devils in dramatic fashion.
Ruben Amorim’s side were perhaps fortunate with no VAR in play for this round of FA Cup games, with the technology set to be introduced in the fifth round, as Maguire looked to be in an offside position when Bruno Fernandes delivered his set-piece for the goal.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Foxes will feel hard done by after the first half in which they were the better side. This marks their ninth defeat in 13 matches since the Dutchman took charge in early December.
"We are not defeated in Fergie time, we are defeated in offside time," said the Leicester head coach after the game.
Joshua Zirkzee scored once again at Old Trafford to cancel out Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s opener during the match. Zirkzee has now scored four out of his five goals for the club at home.
Leicester’s opener was United’s 32nd goal conceded across 20 matches in all competitions. Amongst Premier League sides, only Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and the Foxes themselves have conceded more, with 36, 35 and 34 respectively.
Leicester goal sums up United first half
After struggling for much of the first half to create their own chances, De Cordova-Reid’s goal close to half-time felt like an accurate summation of the proceedings at Old Trafford.
The Jamaican's strike was the seventh time United conceded the first goal in their last eight home enconuters.
A tally of just two shots in the first half spoke volumes about their struggles in breaking down an opponent whom they had beaten 3-0 in early November, with van Nistelrooy in charge of Man Utd on a temporary basis.
See: De Cordova-Reid's goal v Man Utd
De Cordova-Reid, who had just scored one goal in all competitions before last Friday evening, made it 17 successive FA Cup games with goals scored for the Foxes.
Garnacho adds spark
Alejandro Garnacho started the game on the bench as Amorim preferred Kobbie Mainoo on the right, but the former entered the play at the expense of debutant Patrick Dorgu, who endured a testing first 45 minutes in English football.
"They’re boring now," said United legend Roy Keane whilst speaking on ITV. United produced just two shots in the first half.
In stark contrast to that dull first 45 minutes, super-sub Garnacho added some much-needed spark to the attack and was denied his opportunity to equalise by Caleb Okoli, who put in the clearance of the game to keep the ball out of the Leicester net.
Moments later though, Garnacho made the difference again, providing the cross for Rasmus Hojlund’s initial shot whose rebound was swept home by Zirkzee.
See: Zirkzee's equaliser v Leicester
Garnacho ended the night with four shots, eight touches in the opposition box and a 50 per cent shot on target rate.
A game of two halves
Goalscorer Maguire was clear in his thoughts after the game and explained United’s struggles and comeback.
"The first half was nowhere near good enough, we played at a slow tempo and we didn't really get going," said the United No 5.
"I think the second half we came out a lot bigger tempo, we dominated the game and it really felt like we were going to get that winner, it would fall to us and thankfully, I put it in the back of the net."
The 31-year-old’s late winner, scored in the final minute of the match, was the first time a United player had scored a second-half stoppage time winner in the FA Cup since Anthony Martial’s memorable winner against Everton in 2016.
The numbers showed 1.82 Expected Goals (xG) for United versus Leicester’s 0.89, with Amorim’s side creating just 0.04 xG in the first half. A similar tale ensued for the Foxes in the second 45 minutes, where they managed just 0.06 xG.
Man Utd looked a completely different side after the break due to the introduction of Garnacho and Zirkzee as they produced a total of 11 shots in the second half, four on target as well as four big chances.
"We didn't have any energy in the beginning, especially in the first-half. Then in the second half we played a little bit better, with a little more speed, winning second balls,” said United head coach Amorim, after the game.
"Then we managed to turn things around so it was a good result not a good performance."
See: Amorim's post-match press conference in full
Though wins have been difficult to come by in the league, Amorim has now won five out of his seven cup games in charge of the Red Devils.
When is the fifth-round draw?
The 13-time winners of the FA Cup will discover their fate in the fifth round along with other winning sides when the draw takes place from 19:10 GMT on Monday 10 February.
The fifth-round ties are scheduled to be held on the weekend of 1-2 March, after Matchweek 27 and before Matchweek 28 in the Premier League.
Which other Premier League clubs are in action over the weekend?
Fifteen more Premier League sides will look to join Man Utd in the fifth round.
At least three more top-flight clubs are guaranteed to join the Red Devils, as Everton take on AFC Bournemouth on Saturday at 15:00 GMT, Brighton & Hove Albion face Chelsea at 20:00 GMT while Aston Villa host Spurs the following day at 17:35 GMT.
Saturday 8 February
12:15 Leeds United v Millwall
12.15 Leyton Orient v Manchester City
15:00 Coventry City v Ipswich Town
15:00 Everton v AFC Bournemouth
15:00 Preston v Wycombe Wanderers
15:00 Southampton v Burnley
15:00 Stoke City v Cardiff City
15:00 Wigan Athletic v Fulham
17:45 Birmingham City v Newcastle United
20:00 Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea
Sunday 9 February
12:30 Blackburn Rovers v Wolves
15:00 Plymouth v Liverpool
17:35 Aston Villa v Spurs
Monday 10 February
19:45 Doncaster Rovers v Crystal Palace
Tuesday 11 February
20:00 Exeter City v Nottingham Forest