Puel's Praise As Foxes Reach FA Cup Quarter-Finals

- Leicester City beat Sheffield United 1-0 to reach the Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Finals
- Jamie Vardy’s second half strike from Riyad Mahrez’s cross was the difference at King Power Stadium
- The Foxes will learn their quarter-final opponents in the draw on Saturday night
- Claude Puel wants his team to take the same team spirit and concentration into the next round

Jamie Vardy’s second half header after a brilliant Riyad Mahrez cross ensured the Foxes earned their spot in the last-eight but it was far from plain sailing against a lively and organised visiting side. 

Vardy, along with Riyad Mahrez, Demarai Gray and Wilfred Ndidi all had chances to open the scoring in the first half but space was limited against the Championship outfit, who went close themselves with Enda Stevens – City saved by a Harry Maguire block. 

But it was the Foxes who advanced to the quarter-finals thanks to a moment of quality from Mahrez and Vardy, much to the delight of their manager, as they await Saturday night’s draw to learn the identity of their next opponents. 

He told media at full-time: “It’s always tough to win games in the cup. We will see what the draw brings. We need to stay ambitious about this competition but the most important thing is to keep our concentration and team spirit from today into the next game.

“I think the most important thing tonight is to win the game but also to see again Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez playing together in the game. On the pitch they had a good feeling and we had good support from the fans. It’s important to remain united and it’s a good feeling for the future.

“We saw in the game that Riyad came back with quality and set up two goals, one of which was offside but it gave us confidence in a tough game.

“Well done to Sheffield United because they played very well with good organisation and a strong defensive unit. It was difficult for us to find good space and perhaps our play was a little too slow in the first 25 minutes but it was better as we got to half time.

“In the second half we came back strong with quality and a lot of chances. It was good to score but with just one goal it was not enough and we needed Kasper Schmeichel to make a good save. Harry Maguire played well too and made an excellent block in the first half.

“I was happy for Jamie to score because he had two or three chances and he kept his concentration to score. It’s a good reward for him to score.”