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    "A hard day for United" - Amorim on Palace defeat

    Manchester United clawed back from a goal down to beat Leicester City in a 2-1 fourth-round FA Cup victory on Friday at Old Trafford, thanks to a last-gasp header from veteran defender Harry Maguire plus a strike from Joshua Zirkzee.

    The game appeared to be heading into extra time before Maguire headed in the winner in the 93rd minute from Bruno Fernandes' free kick, seconds before the final whistle. Replays showed he was offside, but VAR is not deployed in the first four rounds of the FA Cup.

    The result handed United only their third win in their last eight games at Old Trafford across all competitions.

    United were poor in the first half and Leicester capitalised in the 42nd minute when Wilfred Ndidi's shot was blocked by keeper Andre Onana but Bobby De Cordova-Reid was there to head in the rebound from close range.

    Zirkzee levelled in the 68th minute when Rasmus Hojlund's effort was blocked by defender Caleb Okoli and the ball fell perfectly for Zirkzee to tap home just three minutes after he entered the game.

    Van Nistelrooy: Offside decision was 'hard to swallow'

    Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy tells ITV: "We were not defeated in ‘Fergie time’, we were defeated in ‘offside time’.

    "This wasn't necessary. VAR, you have in a couple centimetres, a couple of inches; this was half a metre. That was a hard one to take because the team deserves to draw in the end. Then extra time, stay in the game, you never know what happens.

    "It was a very good team performance, we started really well, pressing United. On the ball very stable. Deserved to go 1-0 up at half-time. Of course we know in the second half they're going to put some pressure on us and some chances but not even that much.

    "We deserved to go into extra time, go for the battle in extra time and maybe penalties.

    "Decisions like these in our level are hard to swallow."

    Lawrence Ostlere7 February 2025 22:43

    Maguire’s luck and Garnacho’s skill save Amorim from more Man Utd misery

    For swathes of the last six years, Leicester City could savour the thought of Harry Maguire and Manchester United. Not here, however, and not in injury time. Maguire had been a fine servant to Leicester but they banked a world-record fee for a centre-back, some £80m, when they sold him to United in 2019. Maguire’s Old Trafford career has not always proceeded swimmingly, but on a night when they looked like drowning in their own incompetence, he instead turned rescuer.

    A 93rd-minute header took the holders into the FA Cup fifth round in dramatic fashion; controversial, too, given that Maguire – and three of his teammates – had looked suspiciously offside when he ran on to Bruno Fernandes’s deep free-kick to plant an emphatic header in. Amid scenes of bedlam, with no VAR to spare Leicester, United’s act of escapology was complete.

    Richard Jolly at Old Trafford7 February 2025 22:29

    Match-winner Harry Maguire speaks

    "A great finish to the game. The second half we played a lot better. The first-half was nowhere near good enough, we played at a slow tempo and we didn't really get going. We probably deserved to go into half-time losing.”

    On Garnacho’s second-half display: “He made a big impact, he always does that when he comes off the bench, so credit to him, he's ready, he's focused. We knew at half-time he'd bring a little more direct and pace into the team. But Joshua Zirkzee also came on and I thought he made a big difference.”

    Lawrence Ostlere7 February 2025 22:11

    Full-time: Man Utd 2-1 Leicester

    Roy Keane was scathing of United’s performance in the first half, calling them “boring”. He is a little more positive about the second, but still doesn’t seem particularly impressed.

    "The linesman has to see it [Maguire being offside]. United got out of jail tonight. The performance itself was nowhere near good enough."

    ITV pundits Ian Wright and Roy Keane watch on at Old Trafford
    ITV pundits Ian Wright and Roy Keane watch on at Old Trafford (Getty Images)

    7 February 2025 22:07

    Full-time: Man Utd 2-1 Leicester

    And that is that. Alejandro Garnacho was the game-changer, coming off the bench at half-time. United were awful in the first half and not much better for early parts of the second, but eventually they found some urgency and pinned Leicester back. Even so, that was a cruel way for the Foxes to go out of the FA Cup.

    Lawrence Ostlere7 February 2025 21:55

    Man Utd 2-1 Leicester

    It was offside, quite clearly, but there is no VAR in the FA Cup. That’s so tough on Leicester.

    Lawrence Ostlere7 February 2025 21:54

    GOAL! Man Utd 2-1 Leicester (Maguire, 90+3 min)

    United have done it! Bruno Fernandes launches a last-ditch free-kick into the box and there’s Harry Maguire at the far post to head it across goal and into the far corner.

    Heartbreak for Leicester.

    Maguire heads home United's winner
    Maguire heads home United's winner (Getty Images)
    United celebrate Maguire's late goal
    United celebrate Maguire's late goal (Getty Images)

    Lawrence Ostlere7 February 2025 21:51

    Man Utd 1-1 Leicester

    90 min: United are playing with an urgency and tempo that was badly missing in the first half. Zirkzee races back to win the ball from a Leicester midfielder and they are quickly back on the attack searching for this winner.

    Lawrence Ostlere7 February 2025 21:47

    Man Utd 1-1 Leicester

    87 min: United look like the only team likely to score in these final few minutes, but they are struggling to create anything clear-cut against a deep-set Leicester defence. Garnacho wriggles along the box and shoots low, but it’s well held by Hermansen.

    Lawrence Ostlere7 February 2025 21:46

    Man Utd 1-1 Leicester

    84 min: Yoro takes the ball towards the byline and wins a corner for United. The Stretford End roars as Bruno prepares to swing in the set-piece... which Hermansen punches away for another corner.

    Lawrence Ostlere7 February 2025 21:44

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