That’s it for tonight’s blog. I’ll leave you with David Hytner’s match report. Thanks for your company and emails, and congratulations to Leicester on a glorious performance. Night!
Here’s the magnificent Youri Tielemans
“It was a really good team performance. Everyone worked together, everyone was positive. It was a very hard game and I think we did brilliantly. [On the goal] I just saw the space, ran into it and tried to keep the shot low. Then Kelechi killed the game on a set-piece. He’s a good character - he’s very shy but always happy. [His current form] is brilliant for him and the team also.”
Apparently there were 28 passes before Tielemans’ goal, which makes it even better.
Here’s Kelechi Iheanacho
“I feel great and the whole team are happy. We’ve really been waiting for this moment, to get into the FA Cup semi-final [for the first time since 1982]. We worked really well in training to get ready for this game tactically. I think we were fitter than them in the game and that helped us, and we passed the ball really well.
“The partnership [with Jamie Vardy] is really helping us and the team. He helps me so much - creating the space, coming short, making runs in behind. I’m really enjoying it, so hopefully we’ll keep working together.”
Then, as the interview ends, Iheanacho looks to the camera, clenches his fist and shouts “Come on!”
A beaming James Maddison is down on the touchline, hugging his team-mates as they come off the field. It’s been the happiest of days for Leicester.
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Full time: Leicester City 3-1 Manchester United
Peep peep! Leicester have reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 39 years, where they will play Southampton. Their performance was almost flawless, full of intelligence, purpose, dynamism and ruthlessness. Kelechi Iheanacho scored two and had a stormer, with the brilliant Youri Tielemans getting the other goal. There were also outstanding performances from Wilfred Ndidi, Wesley Fofana, Caglar Soyuncu and Brendan Rodgers. United were poor by their standards but many of their errors were forced by Leicester, who pulled off one of their most rousing victories since Rodgers took over. Honestly, they were wonderful.
90+2 min Martial’s downward header is saved comfortably by Schmeichel.
90 min Four added minutes. It’s not happening.
88 min A sizzling, angry free-kick from Fernandes is tipped over smartly by Schmeichel.
87 min The world being in the state it is, most of the post-match focus will be on United’s inadequacies. That’s not fair on Leicester. Even by their admirable standards of the last two seasons, they have been absolutely brilliant tonight. And Brendan Rodgers has won the tactical battle hands down.
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85 min On the plus side, at least United didn’t lose another semi-final.
84 min Fred is replaced by Amad.
82 min A change for Leicester: Hamza Choudhury replaces Jamie Vardy, who was a constant menace even though he is clearly out of form in front of goal.
81 min “Just joined, somewhat late, and saw your post about John Beck,” says Richard Hirst. “Has there ever been such a big difference between player and manager: he was quite a footballing midfielder for Fulham, the complete antithesis of what he became as a manager.”
George Graham? I suppose Beck still wins.
80 min The scoreline is a fair reflection of the game. It’s been a masterful performance from Leicester - and they are playing without three or four regulars.
Leicester had a free-kick on the left wing. Albrighton swiung it deep, McTominay misjudged it and Iheanacho headed in from a few yards out. Henderson, scrambling across his goal, got hands on the ball but could only push it into the net.
GOAL! Leicester 3-1 Man Utd (Iheanacho 78)
Leicester City are heading into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1982!
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76 min It’s all United now, though Leicester are well organised defensively and Kasper Schmeichel still hasn’t had much to do.
75 min Evans is booked for a hopelessly late tackle on Fernandes.
74 min If it stays like this, there will be plenty of talk about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to leave Shaw, Fernandes and McTominay on the bench. Maybe he really meant what he said about league position > trophies.
73 min A Leicester change: Dennis Praet replaces Ayoze Perez.
72 min McTominay is booked for bundling over Perez near the halfway line. I’m not sure it was a foul, but there you go.
70 min Fernandes’s cross is headed behind by the stretching Evans. This is United’s best spell of the match. Fernandes’s corner is headed away by, yes, Ndidi.
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70 min Soyuncu’s awkward long pass is killed sweetly by Iheanacho, who then pokes it forward to leave Vardy one against one with Maguire. But this time Maguire keeps his legs closed and intercepts with authority.
69 min Albrighton is booked for a foul on Shaw.
69 min “Every time Castagne gets the ball,” says Gavin Herbert, “I’m reminded of this.”
68 min This is now United’s best available XI, and they are dominating for the firest time since the early stages. Wan-Bissaka hammers a cross that hits Cavani in the chest/arm before he has time to react. Moments later, McTominay’s flicked header is comfortably saved by Schmeichel.
65 min McTominay wins a corner for United. Fernandes curls it out, Maguire heads it across the area and Albrighton clears.
64 min The quadruple substitution: Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay and Edinson Cavani replace Matic, Telles, Pogba and van de Beek.
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64 min Telles overhits the free-kick and it drifts out of play. That’s his last touch of the game.
63 min United are about to make a quadruple substitution.
63 min Martial is fouled 30 yards from goal by Evans, who insists it was a dive. Replays suggest it probably was, but Andre Marriner has given the free-kick.
62 min Perez runs at a backpedalling United defence but then sprays high and wide from 25 yards. This has been a scintillating performance from Leicester - and they are doing it without Harvey Barnes and James Maddison.
61 min Lindelof does very well to beat Vardy to a near-post cross from Albrighton. It’s all Leicester at the moment, and I’m surprised we haven’t seen Bruno Fernandes. United have been completely outplayed.
60 min Tielemans and Ndidi have been majestic today. So has Iheanacho, who took his goal expertly but has been a revelation in general play.
58 min: Vardy misses a sitter! Leicester should be out of sight. Ndidi won the ball off Greenwood on the halfway line and found Iheanacho. He slid a pass down the inside-left channel to Vardy, who nutmegged Maguire deliciously to move through on goal but then shot wide of the near post from 10 yards. “Fucking shite!” he screams, and it was.
57 min The corner is half cleared, and Greenwood goes on a mazy run before hitting a cross that is cleared by Soyuncu. Telles picks up the loose ball and hits a booming shot that flashes past the far post. Schmeichel seemed pretty relaxed, so maybe it wasn’t as close as it looked.
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57 min Telles’s free-kick is headed behind by Soyuncu.
56 min Telles’s cross is handled by Albrighton, which means a free-kick to United on the left wing...
54 min “This happened to Palace in 1990,” says Ant. “They’d lost 9-0 to Liverpool in the league but beat them 4-3 in the semi-final. Scenes!”
That’s a lovely goal from an outstanding multi-purpose midfield player. He lost Matic by playing a one-two with Iheanacho, then ran away from Fred and rifled a low drive into the far corner from the edge of the area. The defending wasn’t great - Fred was unusually flat-footed and Lindelof backed off - but it was superbly taken by Tielemans.
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GOAL! Leicester 2-1 Man Utd (Tielemans 52)
And now Youri Tielemans has scored!
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51 min Leicester have made a confident start to the second half. The midfield pair of Ndidi and Tielemans are bossing the game.
49 min The match will be settled tonight, even if it means extra-time, penalties and a Royal Rumble. So long as they’re finished in time for Line of Duty, I don’t care who wins or how they do it.
48 min Maguire lofts an absurd square ball across his own area and out for a throw-in. Ndidi receives the ball, surges into the area but then crosses too close to Henderson.
47 min “Some discussion on BBC1 about whether Greenwood gave a shout for VDB to leave it,” says Tom Williams. “Looked like Greenwood was very much on his heels until Donny’s dummy™ so maybe one for best non-touch assists too? Just eager and delighted for anything good to be attributed to van de Beek.”
Yeah, I thought they underplayed van de Beek’s contribution. Whether there was a shout or not, it was a lovely bit of play.
46 min Peep peep!
On the BBC, Guy Mowbray makes an excellent point: whatever happens here, Southampton will be playing a team that has recently beaten them 9-0 in the semi-final. It’ll be a cracking story if they win.
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FA Cup semi-final draw
- Leicester/Man Utd v Southampton
- Chelsea v Manchester City
The draw for the final will be made after the semi-finals have been completed.
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It’s time for the semi-final draw...
“I am a massive fan of Donny as you’ve heard me email in so much to MBMs,” says Ruth Purdue. “He is not Bruno and comparing him to Fernandes is not fair on either of them. He is an excellent passer of the ball and hardly ever gives it away. Donny is a cute touch and link-up player, similar to Mata. He can work in tight spaces easily. Today he has made forward runs and not been found, similar to other games.
“Bruno constantly gives it away sometimes embarrassingly and that lead up to goals (one being a Leicester goal) but his bravery, imagination, leadership and vision have dragged this team from the brink. They have two different styles.
“Donny’s form can only improve with game time and he has been injured so he also is a bit rusty. I want him to do well as I wanted Shinji to do well before him. I really hope that we didn’t sign him because Real wanted him as we know Ole didn’t ask for him.”
You’re right, they are completely different players. I’m surprised they haven’t been used together more, with van de Beek playing from the left like Paul Scholes used to do.
“van de Beek should get an assist for his non-assist,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Football is getting far too existential these days. Or is it?”
“The best thing about Shevchenko’s transfer to Chelsea was the effect it had on Drogba,” says Phil Podolsky. “Never seen as clear an example of a player stepping up his game as Drogba in the 2006-07 season and it was a sight to behold.”
FA Cup semi-final draw
These are the ball numbers, the hell you care.
- Manchester City
- Southampton
- Leicester City/Manchester United
- Chelsea
Half time: Leicester 1-1 Man Utd
Peep peep! We’re no closer to finding out who will complete the semi-final line-up. Leicester were much the better team in the first half, playing very intelligently on the counter-attack, and took the lead when the in-form Kelechi Iheanacho punished a lamentable backpass from Fred. But United managed to stay in the game, just about, and equalised when Mason Greenwood scored after a fine dummy from Donny van de Beek.
44 min: So close from Perez! That was beautiful play. He received a pass from Albrighton just outside the area, zig-zagged away from Matic and swept a shot that curled just wide of the far post. Henderson wouldn’t have saved it.
43 min By the way, the draw for the semi-final will take place at half-time.
42 min Leicester charge down the other end, and Albrighton’s excellent cross is headed behind by Lindelof. This is turning into a good game.
41 min Greenwood picks up a loose ball on the edge of the area and lays it back to Pogba, whose tame shot rolls through to Schmeichel.
39 min “I’m glad to see van de Beek getting another chance today (not that he’s done much with it so far),” says David Wall. “From his Ajax days he’s obviously a good player, and I always think it a shame when good players like that aren’t able to show their class when they move to the Premier League. I’m not a Chelsea fan but I felt that way about Shevchenko disappointing there (though I’m not saying van de Beek is on his level). It’s as though the entire league has missed out on something.”
I know what you mean. A small part of me never quite recovered from two years with Seba Veron. As for van de Beek, his confidence is through the floor, unsurprisingly. It’s all very strange. That was a touch of class for Greenwood’s goal, though, or rather a non-touch.
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Telles and Pogba combined well down the left, with Pogba dragging a low cross into the middle. Van de Beek dummied it beautifully at the near post, and Greenwood nipped in front of Castagne to ping a first-time shot into the net.
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GOAL! Leicester 1-1 Man Utd (Greenwood 38)
Manchester United equalise out of nothing!
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38 min A decent cross from Telles is missed by the leaping Martial at the near post.
36 min Pogba goes down holding his right foot after Fofana accidentally stands on it. He’s in pain but is going to continue.
34 min Wan-Bissaka makes a vital interception to stop Iheanacho’s pass putting Vardy through on goal. Again it came from a mistake, with Lindelof wandering out of defence and then playing a poor pass towards Pogba.
33 min Pogba is now back on the left, so it looks like that was just a temporary switch. United need to do something, though, because Leicester are teaching them a lesson.
32 min Donny van de Beek has been sadly anonymous for United, and I suspect we’ll see Bruno Fernandes as early as half-time. Edinson Cavani is another option. For now, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has switched his attacking players, with Pogba moving to the right, Greenwood into the centre and Martial to the left.
31 min Albrighton dummies to cross and instead squares the free-kick to Tielemans, whose first-time shot from 20 yards is blocked.
30 min Maguire is booked for fouling Iheanacho just outside the area on the right. This has, so far, been a tactical masterclass from Brendan Rodgers, with selective pressing and rapier counter-attacks. Iheanacho and Vardy are pulling United’s centre-backs all over the place.
29 min “Hello there, Rob!” says Adam Roberts. “Does Fred get an assist for that? The weight on the pass was perfect.”
Yep, and a pre-assist from Maguire.
28 min Fred’s cross from the right is punched behind a little nervously by Schmeichel, who seemed worried that it might sneak in the far corner. Telles’s corner is headed well wide by Maguire. That was a slightly better chance than the first one; I think he saw the ball late though.
27 min Although the goal came in farcical circumstances, that shouldn’t obscure an elegant, confident finish from Iheanacho. He took it beautifully.
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26 min I’ll say one thing and one thing only: John Beck’s Cambridge never conceded a goal like that.
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That was a mess from United’s point of view. They tried to play out from the back... with hilarious consequences. It started when Maguire playing a dangerous pass into Fred, who was facing his own goal in the D and had a Leicester player up his derriere. Fred tried to play the ball back to Henderson - but instead gave it straight to Iheanacho, who moved smoothly round Henderson to score.
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GOAL! Leicester 1-0 Man Utd (Iheanacho 24)
Kelechi Iheanacho scores after a howler from Fred!
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22 min Albrighton beats Telles and wins a corner off Maguire. Leicester are well on top at the moment.
21 min Albrighton goes down holding his head after being hit by a flailing arm from Telles. It was clumsy rather than malicious, and life goes on.
20 min I was going to say before the game that Leicester had the home disadvantage, as both these teams are better away from home. In fact, in the first 20 minutes United have been more like the home team, which is playing into Leicester’s hands.
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18 min Another half-chance for Vardy, whose low shot is well blocked by Maguire. The opportunity came after Fred was robbed by Perez 30 yards from goal.
18 min United started well but Leicester have looked more dangerous in the last few minutes. Vardy has taken up some good positions between Wan-Bissaka and Lindelof.
17 min Henderson makes a good save. Vardy broke into the area on the left and tried to pick out Iheanacho with a low cross. Maguire’s interception sent the ball back to Vardy, who swept a first-time shot towards the far corner with his right foot. Henderson got down to his left to push it away.
13 min Telles’s deep corner is headed towards goal by the backpedalling Maguire, and Schmeichel makes a comfortable save. Maguire couldn’t get any power in the header.
12 min Martial, who looks sharp, wins a corner on the right. Telles wanders across to take it...
8 min United continue to dominate possession, with Pogba seeing a lot of the ball. Leicester won’t mind that too much, such is their counter-attacking threat.
6 min In the modern game, Martial could easily have been booked for that tackle, as his studs were showing. Funny how things evolve: 20 years ago that would have been seen as a magnificent tackle. Either way, Martial’s tackle only registered 1.1 on the Sounessometer.
Just hand over the award, now ... #Souness #LFC #Rangers pic.twitter.com/9GmZk5ydRY
— Stewart Weir (@sweirz) September 11, 2020
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5 min Leicester players are furious when Martial puts Tielemans up in the air. It was a very strong tackle; the only issue is whether it was dangerous. The referee didn’t think so.
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4 min Vardy scoots down the left and crosses dangerously towards Iheanacho, whose first-time shot is blocked by the sliding Telles. It wouldn’t have counted - Vardy was offside - but that was good defending from Telles.
3 min United have started well, with some good one-touch passing.
1 min Peep peep! Manchester United kick off from right to left.
The players are out on the field, all with their gameface on. Here we are now, entertain us.
While we wait for this to start, there’s a spectacular match taking place at the London Stadium.
And the last time Leicester hosted Man Utd in a cup game, 25 years ago, Emile Heskey and Steve Claridge concocted a goal of astonishing brilliance. Don’t worry about reading the words - that’s so 2002 - but please scroll down to the video at the bottom of the article.
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The last time Leicester reached the FA Cup semi-final was in 1982, when they triumphed in one of the strangest quarter-finals ever played.
Pre-match reading
Team news
Brendan Rodgers has picked his strongest available team; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not. There are a few surprises in the Man Utd side - Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Alex Telles and Donny van de Beek all start, with Bruno Fernandes only on the bench. Marcus Rashford is not in the squad.
Leicester’s only change from last weekend 5-0 win over Sheffield United is at wing-back, with Marc Albrighton replacing the injured Ricardo Pereira.
Leicester (3-4-1-2) Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Soyuncu; Albrighton, Ndidi, Tielemans, Castagne; Perez; Iheanacho, Vardy.
Substitutes: Ward, Daley-Campbell, Amartey, Fuchs, Thomas, Mendy, Choudhury, Praet, Leshabela.
Man Utd (4-2-3-1) Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles; Fred, Matic; Greenwood, van de Beek, Pogba; Martial.
Substitutes: De Gea, Shaw, Tuanzebe, Williams, Amad, Bruno Fernandes, James, McTominay, Cavani.
Referee Andre Marriner.
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Preamble
The schedulers have saved the best for last: Leicester v Manchester United is the tie of the round, a potential humdinger between two of the best teams in the country. Their last meeting was an excellent 2-2 draw on Boxing Day, and this feels like a game that could go the distance: extra-time, penalties, sudden death, the whole thing only just finishing in time for Line of Duty.
It’s not quite the A-list party it might have been, as both teams are without key players through injury: Harvey Barnes, James Maddison, James Justin, Ricardo Pereira, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani are all likely to miss the game. But that means opportunities for players like Kelechi Iheanacho, who rammed a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Sheffield United last weekend.
The winners will join Southampton, Manchester City and Chelsea in a very strong last four. United are aiming to reach their fifth semi-final in 18 months in all competitions; Leicester are hoping to make the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 39 years.
Kick off 5pm.
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