Manchester United secured a hard-fought FA Cup victory against Leicester City, despite a lackluster first-half performance. Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee proved instrumental in the second-half comeback.
The Stretford End briefly paused their singing of Ruben Amorim's chant, expressing their support, before restarting it. The match concluded with The Cure's 'Friday I'm In Love' filling the air. Sir Alex Ferguson was observed yawning at one point. As added time approached, he found himself fending off fans attempting to embrace him in the directors' box. Another victory in his time. Fergie Time. United were truly unwatchable and unbelievable.
Their first-half performance was so atrocious that first-team coach Darren Fletcher departed six minutes before the halftime whistle. Ruud van Nistelrooy was 22 minutes away from equaling Ruben Amorim's number of victories at Old Trafford this season. This marked Amorim's fifth win, but undeniably his most crucial. There were boos, exasperated sighs, supporters snapping at Kobbie Mainoo, and a fervent chant of 'Attack, attack, attack'. Eventually, United did attack. Appropriately, the winning goal came from another defender. Harry Maguire has had numerous headed opportunities and should have more goals for United; this particular one was offside. However, Leicester's plight is compounded by VAR not being in operation until the fifth round; they will not be in the coveted velvet bag. United will. Their season remains salvageable in the cup competitions, and there won't be a vacant weekend at the start of March. Their supporters can eagerly anticipate Monday's draw. Amorim remains steadfast in his formation but flexes his personnel choices. United rediscovered their attacking prowess with Alejandro Garnacho entering the field in the second half. Fellow substitute Joshua Zirkzee equalized and proved to be a crowd-pleasing upgrade on his teammates who started. 'How s**t must you be? We're winning away,' the Leicester fans sang in the first half. They had only secured victories at Southampton and Tottenham this season, teams trailing United in the standings. An hour into the match, Leicester fans started chanting 'ole' as their team effortlessly maintained possession. Three minutes later, the Stretford End commanded United to attack, mirroring the away fans' chants at Fulham twelve days prior. Garnacho and Zirkzee responded. Relieved United fans left hollering Zirkzee's name. He has made significant impacts in the third and fourth rounds of the cup and is emerging as an unlikely cult figure. United have seemingly come full circle. Their stifling and stagnant performance in the first hour echoed the drudgery during Louis van Gaal's second season in 2015-16. Back then, it was commonplace for United not to score in the first half. This season, they have failed to score in the first half of 12 out of 20 games at Old Trafford.There wasn't a shot on target from United until the 65th minute, and Garnacho's eventual strike was deflected. Left-back has been a problem position for United for 18 months; they signed one last week, and Amorim played Patrick Dorgu out of position. Dorgu performed decently and still only lasted a half. Amorim seems to be overcomplicating matters almost weekly. At least Dorgu's replacement, Garnacho, claimed the man of the match award. This was not a resounding endorsement for the FA Cup. An inconsiderate kick-off time and a lackluster tie, with only a small contingent of away fans present as the majority were priced out by United's avaricious billionaire co-owner. Van Nistelrooy emerged to a prolonged chant of 'Ruuuuud' and warm applause. He and Amorim clasped hands and exchanged a business-like embrace but did not linger. Casemiro, a starter in all four of Van Nistelrooy's matches as caretaker manager, made a beeline for his old comrade in the tunnel and lingered outside the away dressing room. Alas, the transfer window closed on Monday. The left-footed left-back Dorgu curiously lined up on the right wing. He wasn't inhibited by switching flanks. Dorgu was involved in a breakaway and even had a shot. Amad offered him encouraging applause afterward. Then, United fans joined in with applause for the Dane following a committed header. And still, Dorgu, the only remotely positive aspect in a tedious half, was substituted at halftime. Amorim has a blind spot for his compatriot, Diogo Dalot, who played on and out of position. United players donned training tops with 'Mucha fuerza, Licha!' - 'lots of strength, Licha' printed on the back in tribute to the injured Martinez. He was immediately missed. Impatience crept in after 15 minutes, with United supporters demanding a quicker build-up from the backline. Several vented at Mainoo for a backward pass on 30 minutes when he had the space to carry the ball into the Leicester half. That was his sixth touch. Mainoo's confidence was at a season-high last week after his influential role in the 2-0 win away to FCSB. Seven days later, it is at a season low. He is discovering, like Marcus Rashford, that there is a different level of expectation reserved for United players born in Greater Manchester, and Mainoo does not have the support network. He made way for Zirkzee 18 minutes into the second half. Rasmus Hojlund had the audacity to berate the linesman for flagging him offside. Later in the first half, he apologized to Leny Yoro for misreading a lofted pass.
MANCHESTER UNITED LEICESTER CITY FA CUP ALEJANDRO GARNACHO JOSHUA ZIRKZE RUBEN AMORIM SIR ALEX FERGUSON
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