Ricardo Heads City Into Quarter-Finals
Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi, making his first start since late January, was one of three changes to Brendan Rodgers’ starting XI, with wingers Demarai Gray and Marc Albrighton also returning.
City had two significant chances in the first half, with England left-back Ben Chilwell seeing his cross deflect agonisingly wide before No.10 James Maddison forced Lee Camp into a good save with six minutes of the first half to play.
While shots on goal were at a premium in the opening 45 minutes, Leicester upped their tempo after the interval and created a number of opportunities, as Jonny Evans headed over before Chilwell poked wide under pressure.
Forward Kelechi Iheanacho then fired a shot into the arms of Camp via the King Power Stadium turf, before Maddison’s deflected effort struck the top of the Birmingham bar on 68 minutes.
The Foxes continued to press, and finally broke the deadlock with eight minutes remaining. The persistence of Albrighton saw him lift a cross into Ricardo Pereira, who beat Jake Clarke-Salter in the air before heading past Camp.
Birmingham threatened to level matters in injury time, but an excellent header from Çağlar Söyüncü was followed up by Chilwell’s block on the line as Leicester repelled the visiting side’s attack late on.
Major moment
City dominated possession of the ball throughout the 90 minutes but were limited to few goalscoring opportunities on Filbert Way.
That made right-back Ricardo Pereira’s winning header even sweeter, as City, with eight minutes of normal time remaining, finally breached the Birmingham defence.
Who impressed?
Matt Elliott told LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live show: “I’m not saying it was James Maddison’s best game, but he was always on the ball. He was always trying to do something and he was probably the highest-performer out there.
"But let’s give it to Ricardo Pereira for the goal, but it was those two usual suspects."
Where do we stand?
City reach the quarter-finals of the Emirates FA Cup for the second time in three seasons and have been handed a home draw against Chelsea in the last eight.
The fixture will take place at King Power Stadium across the weekend of 21 March, with details set to be confirmed in due course.
Coming up…
On Monday evening, Brendan Rodgers’ men welcome Aston Villa to King Power Stadium in the Premier League (8pm kick-off), before a trip to Watford follows five days later (12:30pm kick-off).