Matchday Live Talking Points: An Occasion To Saviour & Tactical Masterclass
- Leicester City beat Manchester United 3-1 in Sunday's Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Final at King Power Stadium
- Matt Elliott, Iwan Roberts and Gerry Taggart all gave their views on LCFC Radio's Matchday Live show
- Kelechi Iheanacho continued his impressive scoring streak with another two goals against the Red Devils
- Youri Tielemans was also on the scoresheet to set up a semi-final Wembley meeting with Southampton
Into the prestigious competition's last four for the first time since 1982, Matchday Live brought all the key talking points after the final whistle, in the company of three former Leicester City stalwarts - Matt Elliott, Iwan Roberts and, from the King Power Stadium press box, Gerry Taggart.
The trio joined presenter Dan Bates to discuss the superb 3-1 victory over Manchester United, secured via another two goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Youri Tielemans' stunning strike, which set up a meeting with Southampton at Wembley in April.
An occasion to savour
Matt Elliott said: "I wish I could have been out there playing, what an experience that would have been! It was a wonderful occasion, fully deserved. An amazing performance and an amazing result. I questioned at half-time whether Leicester would be able to continue in the second half in a similar vain to the first half, because they were the better side but you just wondered if things would take their toll in the second and they wouldn't be able to keep those energy levels, but they did. They deservedly came out winners. Great memories have just been made."
Showing a strong mentality
Iwan Roberts said: "Leicester have just beaten Manchester United for the first time in 14 games. Going into that game, United hadn't lost in 26 domestic away games, they had conceded one goal in their last seven games, they had conceded two in their last 11 games and Leicester have gone and done that to them. It was absolutely magnificent, that's the only way you can describe it. Leicester had that setback just before half-time when United levelled things, which they didn't deserve, but the way Leicester came out for the second half, it didn't faze them, it didn't affect them, their heads hadn't dropped."
Tactical masterclass
Gerry Taggart said: "They were fantastic this evening. Tactically, it was absolutely spot on. I don't think Manchester United were at 100 per cent, but it's Manchester United, they are still a good team. Leicester just wore them down gradually, especially in that second half. They just ran out of ideas, Leicester made them look an average team. They wanted it more and they got to grips with the game better in the passing game and going forward. In the end, United were all over the place. If Jamie Vardy scores, which, under normal circumstances you expect him to do, you're taking about scoring four and conceding one. It was an incredible performance, an incredible result and they thoroughly deserved it."
The pick of the goals
Matt Elliott said: "The second goal was one of the goals of the season, they kept it for about half an hour before they decided to actually penetrate Manchester United. A lovely little touch and lay off by Kelechi Iheanacho, who was superb, as were most of the players, and [Youri] Tielemans just strode at the heart of the United defence, struck it low into the bottom corner and from that moment on, Leicester never really looked like relinquishing their lead, and that's not always the case. The next goal came and it was comforting, but they were superior in every department."
Impressive at both ends of the pitch
Iwan Roberts said: "Leicester dominated and when they had to dig in, you knew that there was going to be a stage that they big hitters were going to come on, on 62 minutes, but they weathered that five or 10 minute storm when Manchester United had a bit of a go. They totally deserved to go through to the semi-final. It is hard to pick a Man of the Match when you have a collective team that performed as well as what Leicester did."
Solid defensive display
Gerry Taggart said: "They stopped any potential issues that may have arose at source. They were getting out to the ball quickly, they were putting pressure on the ball. [Çağlar] Söyüncü in the first half, I thought he was possessed they way he was on the front foot, not giving anyone in a United shirt time to settle on the ball, time to control it, get turned or cause potential problems for Leicester's backline. That was the story throughout the 90 minutes. Driving backwards, getting blocks in, forcing corners and they were heading everything today. They stood up, they were strong and [Wesley] Fofana, how many times did you see him driving out with the ball, taking the pressure off the backline?"