Controversial stoppage-time winners in front of the Stretford End? Maybe Manchester United are finding their feet after all.
This was actually a rather unconvincing victory over a struggling Leicester City team, but Ruben Amorim will take anything he can at present. Harry Maguire, striding onto Bruno Fernandes’ free kick three minutes into stoppage time at the end, was in an offside position as he headed home the hosts’ winning goal. But with VAR not being used in the FA Cup until the fifth round, United’s celebrations went unchecked.
Amid the respite, there was still concern to be had with much of this performance. The locals’ grumbling discontent at the hosts’ lack of energy through the first half was compounded as United conceded the opening goal for the seventh time in eight home matches as half-time approached. Bobby De Cordova-Reid instinctively nodded in from point-blank range after Andre Onana blocked Wilfred Ndidi’s attempt, with the advantage well merited. Leicester’s approach play had looked slick and incisive when compared to the home side’s stodgy efforts.
United did not manage a shot on target in that dismal first-half showing. But there was greater urgency upon the restart and substitute Alejandro Garnacho, introduced at the break, saw Caleb Okoli clear one goalbound shot via the crossbar before prising the visitors open again. It was his dart up the wing and cross which, after a pinball, was eventually converted by another substitute, Joshua Zirkzee.
Other opportunities were passed up and the contest appeared to be lurching into extra time. Then came Maguire’s winner against his former club, the absence of an assistant’s flag, and relief for Amorim.
Anantaajith Raghuraman and Carl Anka dissect the action from Old Trafford.
How bad was that first half?
United have not been great entertainers under Amorim, but this first half was especially bad.
All the pre-match excitement about Patrick Dorgu starting was nullified very quickly as Leicester, fresh from a 4-0 thrashing at Everton, controlled much of the opening periods. United ended with marginally more possession but did nothing with it. Leicester hardly pulled up any trees either, making for an uneventful and sloppy half, but they carried the marginally greater threat.
Amorim’s team recorded two shots and none on target to Leicester’s four and three respectively.
This was the seventh time in Amorim’s 20 matches in charge that United ended the first half with no shots on target — a damning stat given they scored with their first attack on his managerial debut against Ipswich Town last November. They created little once again for Rasmus Hojlund, who had only seven touches — the least he has managed while starting a game this season.
What chances that were created to open the scoring were fleeting and conjured from nothing. Hojlund nearly connected with a Bruno Fernandes free kick in the 24th minute, but that was as close as the hosts came. Leicester, in contrast, made the most of their moment.
A splendid piece of skill from Bilal El Khannouss saw him away from Leny Yoro, Ndidi might have scored with his low shot, but De Cordova-Reid was there to touch in the opening goal.
Leicester City celebrate De Cordova-Reid’s opener (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Anantaajith Raghuraman
What was Dorgu doing on the right?
United spent the majority of 2024 playing without a left-footed defender at full-back or wing-back — and were worse off for it. The arrival of Dorgu from Lecce was supposed to solve that, giving Amorim’s team a raw but physical defender who can help with ball progression down the left flank.
United fans were excited to see Dorgu named in the starting lineup — only to question why the 20-year-old was warming up at right wing-back. Amorim had form for playing his wing-backs on the “wrong” side while at Sporting CP in Portugal, but surely the head coach wouldn’t overcomplicate things for Dorgu’s first game?
Then kick-off happened, with Dorgu standing on the halfway line to the right of the centre circle. It was not the first game in the 2024-25 season that the Denmark international had started on the right, but still a surprise. So how did he play?
He gave away a foul for a late trod on Boubakary Soumare in the opening 60 seconds but, after 10 minutes, it looked as if Amorim had played his new signing on the right because he wanted to coach him through the game. There was more than one tactical instruction passed on from a crouching Amorim on the touchline to Dorgu closest to him. The head coach was particularly focused on when he wanted Dorgu to pull wide and when he wanted him to narrow up and help Leny Yoro.
Dorgu shields the ball from Jordan Ayew (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
With Amad as the right-sided No 10, Dorgu had plenty to offer down his flank. Amorim and Amad both offered suggestions as to when Dorgu could invert into central areas and offer underlapping runs into the final third. It was little coincidence that the majority of United’s attacks in the first half came down the right, with Dorgu and Amad looking to double up on Leicester’s Luke Thomas.
Did it work? Sort of. Dorgu retired at the break having enjoyed 47 touches of the ball, but United’s slow and sterile possession game continued. The Dane’s introduction to the United squad will help solve some build-up issues, but the team lacks central midfielders who can comfortably receive the ball off the back three on the half turn. Kobbie Mainoo’s recalibration into a No 10 removes Amorim’s best option for the role.
The wing-back is a fresh face, but many of his team-mates are stuck in a confidence-stricken spiral. The second half saw Dorgu substituted for Alejandro Garnacho, ending his debut, which was bright in parts. But also one that was tactically baffling at times, too.
Carl Anka
How did United replace Lisandro Martinez?
United’s pre-match training drills saw United’s players don warm-up shirts sporting the message “Mucha Fuerza Licha!”(“Much Strength Licha!”).
The team will sorely miss the presence of Martinez, who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in last Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. Amorim has several defenders he could place into that left-sided centre-back role, but few combine Martinez’s tenacious tackling with composed progressive passing.
Onana wearing the message of support for Martinez (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Amorim opted to field Noussair Mazraoui on the left of his back three in the first half. The Morocco international offered an approximation of Martinez’s in-possession qualities, but neither he nor Diogo Dalot at left wing-back could power the team up and out of their half during a flat opening 45 minutes. At half-time, Amorim swapped Leny Yoro into the left centre-back role, with Dalot at wing-back and Garnacho as the No 10, but the slow passing initially remained.
Shortly after the hour mark, fans in the Stretford End started an “Attack! Attack! Attack Attack Attack!” chant to try to gee up their side. Moments after, the ball found its way to Garnacho in some space and United found their verve again. Zirkzee’s 68th-minute equaliser saw United find some belated oomph. But who fills in at left centre-back without Martinez remains a moveable feast.
Carl Anka
Can this team do without Garnacho?
Alejandro Garnacho has become a key part of United’s starting XI in recent weeks, with Amorim praising him for adapting to the demands of his system. While he has impressed in those games, this match once again showed the value he brings off the bench.
United’s attacking play had looked uninspiring in the first half and not much changed in the second either. But the Argentina international’s directness did bring much-needed dynamism.
He repeatedly sized up his man and tried to reach the byline, with Dalot occasionally jumping into the left No 10 role to give Garnacho free rein over the wide areas. That almost paid dividends in the 65th minute when Manuel Ugarte hurdled a challenge to slide a through ball to him. Garnacho bore down on goal but slowed down once inside the box, allowing Wout Faes to slide in and block the shot. The ball looped over Mads Hermansen, but Okoli raced back to clear it off the crossbar and into Hermansen’s hands.
Garnacho continued to torment Leicester’s right side, and was involved in United’s equaliser three minutes later. He broke past James Justin and cut the ball back for Rasmus Hojlund, whose shot was blocked and ricocheted off Faes into Zirkzee’s path for an easy finish.
Garnacho was introduced at the interval and injected some energy (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Over the ensuing 20 minutes, Garnacho saw a couple of cutbacks cleared and took a shot that curled high and wide. Then, 10 minutes from the end of normal time, he had a glorious chance to lay the ball off with three United players in the box, only to hit the side-netting at the near-post with Hojlund making his frustration clear. With play stopped after Patson Daka dropped to the ground with a knock, Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte made a point of speaking with Garnacho, too.
It was no surprise when he duly won the free kick for Maguire’s winner, forcing a handball from Justin on the flank.
Yet they had needed his input. The forward was linked with an exit in January but is one of the only United players with the ability to stretch defences with his play out wide. His decision-making requires refining but his impact cannot be denied and he walked away with the Player of the Match award.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
Would VAR have ruled out the winner?
Yes. The game seemed destined for extra time with Leicester thwarting United’s attacks towards the end. But in the second of three added minutes, United were awarded a free kick for a handball by James Justin on the left. Fernandes floated in an excellent free kick and multiple United players were able to escape their markers before Maguire at the far post headed across Hermansen and into the bottom corner to give United the win.
TV replays showed, however, that Maguire was in an offside position, beyond the last Leicester defender. With no VAR in the FA Cup’s early rounds, the goal stood and the referee blew the final whistle seconds later to confirm the result.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
What did Ruben Amorim say?
On the winner coming in stoppage time at the end, a finish more reminiscent of the onlooking Sir Alex Ferguson’s glittering spell at the club, Amorim said: “We have to believe it until the end, but this had nothing to do with ‘Fergie time’. I think the performance… we have to do so much better with the ball, without the ball. We didn’t have any energy in the beginning, especially in the first half.
“Then in the second half, of course, we played a little bit better, with a little bit more speed, winning second balls. And then we managed to turn things around so it was a good result, not a good performance.”
Did his side show the ‘cup spirit’ that saw them win this trophy last season?: “Yes, but I don’t see things like that. I cannot focus just on saving the season, or the momentum with a cup. That’s not the way I see football. That’s not the way I see Manchester United. It’s the performance, the result. I care about the moment and, clearly, the moment is not good enough. A good result. We move forward. But today was not a good day.”
Amorim is unimpressed (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Is it the players? The system? The coach? “It’s everything. The coach is the first person responsible. When a team does not improve, it’s on the coach. But we are here to do things and to see the game, to study the game and try to improve for the next time.”
What next for Manchester United?
Sunday, February 16: Tottenham Hotspur (Away), Premier League, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am ET
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(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
