Leicester beats Man U, into 1st FA Cup semifinal in 39 years

Published Mar. 21, 2021 3:20 p.m. ET
Associated Press

LEICESTER, England (AP) — Kelechi Iheanacho's double sent Leicester into the semifinals of the FA Cup for the first time in 39 years with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United on Sunday.

It leaves the Europa League as the last realistic chance this season for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win his first trophy since taking charge of United in 2018.

But Leicester, which is third in the Premier League and a point behind United, will face Southampton in the last four of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium next month.

Iheanacho opened the scoring for Leicester after a howler from Fred in the 24th minute. The midfielder’s back pass did not reach goalkeeper Dean Henderson as United tried to play its way out of defense and Iheanacho quickly got in to round Henderson and score.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mason Greenwood equalized in the 38th when he swept in Pogba’s cross after Donny Van De Beek’s dummy.

Youri Tielemans restored Leicester’s lead when he ended his driving run by drilling low into the corner in the 52nd. United made four changes at once in the 64th — including Pogba coming off — but Iheanacho grabbed his second goal in the 78th when he was left unmarked to head in Marc Albrighton’s free kick.

Leicester lost to Tottenham in the semifinals of the 1982 FA Cup.

Leicester has lost four FA Cup finals — more than any other team without winning the competition.

Brendan Rodgers has Leicester well placed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since winning the Premier League in 2016.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

share