The FA Cup holders put their recent struggles at Old Trafford behind them to knock Leicester City out and reach the fifth round.
After the hosts were booed off at half-time, goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Harry Maguire in the second half helped ease pressure on Ruben Amorim after Bobby De Cordova-Reid gave The Foxes the lead in the first half.
As it happened
There was little to separate the teams in the early stages, with the first chance of the match coming from the away side. Patson Daka beat Maguire to the ball following a hopeful pass from James Justin before teeing up Jordan Ayew, whose powerful effort from range was saved by André Onana.
Patrick Dorgu was making his first appearance for Manchester United since signing from Lecce in the January transfer window, and the 20-year-old was making a strong first impression to the Old Trafford crowd. The wingback stood out as one of few bright sparks in a red shirt in the first 45 minutes.
It would have been a difficult first half for Manchester United fans to watch, with not even a shot on target for the hosts. The situation became even worse when Wilfred Ndidi’s effort bounced off Bobby De Cordova-Reid and into the net after Onana’s initial save. Leicester City had a deserved lead, and it would have been music to their ears hearing the home side booed off the pitch following a pedestrian performance so far.
Embed from Getty ImagesRuben Amorim turned to his bench to try and turn the tie around, with Alejandro Garnacho injecting some much-needed pace into the side with his introduction. The Argentine was played in on goal and it looked like his effort would creep over the line, but a miraculous goal line clearance from Caleb Okoli denied the 20-year-old.
The tide was turning with Garnacho once again threatening down the left wing and his pass found Højlund in the box before his effort deflected into the path of Zirkzee, allowing the Dutchman to tap home his 5th goal in a Manchester United shirt. Game on.
After Zirkzee’s equaliser the game rapidly turned into a case of attack versus defence, with Leicester trying to take the game to extra time and gradually providing less of a threat on the counter.
As it looked like time was running out, Manchester United won a free kick, giving Bruno Fernandes the chance to deliver an inviting ball into the box. Then, none other than Harry Maguire found the bottom corner against his former club to snatch victory right at the death.
Embed from Getty ImagesVAR is not in use in the FA Cup until the fifth round of the competition, potentially to the fortune of The Red Devils, with replays showing that there would have been a decision to make; Maguire looked like he was offside.
Alas, no flag was raised, and it was Manchester United who progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
It was an agonising way for Leicester City to lose the tie, especially so late on. They now have have the rest of the season to focus on their fight for Premier League survival with a game against Arsenal awaiting at the King Power Stadium on Saturday 15th February.
Meanwhile, Manchester United will learn their next opponent’s in the FA Cup, when the draw for the fifth round takes place on the evening of Monday February 10th.
The lineups
MUN: Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Mazroui; Dorgu, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dalot; Amad, Mainoo, Højlund
LEI: Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Thomas; Ndidi, Soumaré; De Cordova-Reid, El Khannous, Ayew; Daka