Manchester United FC defeat Norwich City in the quarter-final stage of the FA Cup with a score of 2-1. The Red Devils left it very late against 10-man Norwich side to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Ighalo and Maguire scored as United come home victorious, as a potential upset was on the cards waiting at Carrow Road.
Solskjaer made some changes from their team that faced Sheffield United in the Premier League on Wednesday. The manager handed Mata, Lingard, Ighalo, Bailly, Romero and Dalot their first starts after the pandemic break. United gave an utterly disappointing performance against the Canaries, who sit at the bottom of the Premier League.
The Canaries fielded their strongest possible team but didn’t have a lot of the ball as United dominated the possession. But United were wasteful with the ball and didn’t create a lot of clear cut chances as Norwich sat back. The Red Devils finally scored through Ighalo who tucked the ball past Tim Krul from close range.
Bruno Fernandes was employed as the attacking midfielder with Lingard and Mata on either side of the Portuguese. Lingard had a point to prove and looked hungry but didn’t have an end product, whereas Mata looked slow and lack lustre. Dalot and Shaw tried to bump forward down the wings to provide width, but their deliveries lacked accuracy.
Todd Cantwell scored for Norwich which shocked the Red Devils, as they were clearly dominating the proceedings. The goal gave the Canaries confidence and brought the match to a nervy ending. Solskjaer then called up Pogba, Rashford, Matic, and Brandon Williams to throw caution to the wind.
As the match reached 90 minutes, Klose was sent off for a foul on Ighalo on the edge of the box. Norwich somehow hung on to see off a string of United attacks as the score remained in balance. The same story continued in extra time as well and Norwich held on at the end of the first half of extra-time.
In the second half of extra-time, Solksjaer asked Maguire to go forward as United needed an aerial threat in the box. This decision by the manager was spot on and United got the winner in the 118th minute. Maguire scored a scrappy goal but it was enough to send the United through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
