MANCHESTER, England: Harry Maguire scored a controversial injury time winner as Manchester United came from behind to beat Leicester 2-1 and move into the last 16 of the FA Cup on Friday.
United went behind to a Bobby De Cordova-Reid goal four minutes before halftime. Joshua Zirkzee equalized in the 68th minute and Maguire grabbed the late winner.
There was a heated debate over whether the England center half was in an offside position but there is no VAR in the FA Cup and the goal stood.
“This (loss) wasn’t necessary,” an unhappy Leicester coach Ruud van Nistelrooy told broadcaster ITV.
“This was half a meter (offside). Then extra time, stay in the game, you never know what happens. We deserved to go into extra time and maybe penalties. Decisions like these in our level are hard to swallow.”
The result marked the first time in United’s history that the club has won three times at home against the same team in the same season. United beat Leicester 5-2 in the League Cup and 3-0 in the Premier League at Old Trafford.
The result was a boost for new coach Ruben Amorim and a bitter letdown for Van Nistelrooy, who was the interim manager at United before being moved on and taking charge at Leicester.
Leicester, a one-time FA Cup champion, was 1-0 up at the break. Manuel Ugarte was dispossessed near the touchline and Bilai El Khannouss’ low cross was hit goal-bound by Wilfred Ndidi but deflected in off De Cordova-Reid.
The introduction of substitutes Alejandro Garnacho and Zirkzee lifted United in the second half and Zirkzee got the equalizer with the simplest of finishes after good work from the Argentine player down the left flank.
Then, just as the game looked like going into extra time, Bruno Fernandes threw a long ball into the box for Maguire to head the winner.
“(It was a) great finish to the game,” Maguire said. “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.
“He (Garnacho) made a big impact. He always does that when he comes off the bench, so credit to him, he’s ready, he’s focused.”
Maguire heads late winner and Man United beats Leicester in dramatic FA Cup match
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Maguire heads late winner and Man United beats Leicester in dramatic FA Cup match
- The result marked the first time in United’s history that the club has won three times at home against the same team in the same season
Pakistan captain rules out ‘major’ squad changes before T20 World Cup 2026
- T20 World Cup will take place in India in February, with Pakistan to play its matches in Sri Lanka
- Pakistan have recorded back-to-back T20I series victories over Sri Lanka, South Africa this year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha set his sights on winning the T20 World Cup 2026, ruling out any “major changes” to the squad before the megaevent next year.
The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup will commence on Feb. 7 next year in India. Pakistan will play all of its matches in Sri Lanka as per a deal brokered by the ICC that allows India and Pakistan to play each other at neutral venues.
Pakistan have tried left-arm pacer Salman Mirza, brought back former captain Babar Azam to the T20I squad and tried fast bowler Naseem Shah and played several all-rounders in the squad this year, including Saim Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf.
“I think our roles are defined and we need to give a chance in the next six games with consistency to this playing XI and those roles, so that we can head to the World Cup with confidence,” Agha said in a podcast with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“I don’t think there will be any major changes because we were keeping this World Cup in mind since the last six to seven months in the way we were practicing or selecting the players for the team,” he added.
Pakistan will next play a three-match T20I away series against Sri Lanka before they head to the T20 World Cup.
The South Asian country has encountered success in white-ball matches recently, winning a tri-nation series tournament against Afghanistan and the UAE in September.
Agha also led his team to the final of the Asia Cup later the same month which they lost to India. However, he led the Green Shirts to wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa in the T20I series against both countries at home later.
