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By CHRIS WHEELER Published: 09: 03 AEDT, 8 February 2025 | Updated: 10: 27 AEDT, 8 February 2025 20 View comments What is it with Manchester United and the FA Cup? No matter how badly this team plays, how much luck they need, United are somehow finding a way to stay in the old competition. Last season, the 13-time winners lifted the cup again on the back of those incredible wins against Coventry City and Liverpool. This time, the holders are clinging onto it by their fingertips after a shootout win over Arsenal in the third round with 10 men and a penalty save in normal time by No. 2 goalkeeper Altay Bayindir – and now this. For more than an hour at Old Trafford last night, United’s refusal to sign a striker in the transfer window looked like an act of sheer folly. Ruben Amorim had talked about the ‘risk’ of allowing Marcus Rashford to join Aston Villa on loan before the deadline without bringing in a replacement, and it felt like one that was about to backfire spectacularly. United were simply awful, particularly in a lifeless first half in which they failed to have a shot on target and fell behind to a Leicester side fighting for their lives in the Premier League. Harry Maguire headed Man United into the FA Cup fourth round with an injury time effort The Man United defender appeared to be in an offside position before netting the winner Leicester had appeared to have done enough to force extra-time before Maguire's late goal Then Amorim sent on Alejandro Garnacho at the interval and he breathed life into his team, setting up an equaliser for another substitute Joshua Zirkzee. We were still heading towards extra-time and the prospect of another shootout when Harry Maguire, the former Leicester player signed for £80million by United in 2019, headed a dramatic winner in the last of three minutes added on by referee Michael Salisbury. It was a sickener for Leicester, not least because the decision to penalise James Justin for handball seemed very harsh when a flick from Garnacho made contact with his elbow at close quarters with only a split second to react. Where was he meant to put his arm? The free kick way out on the touchline in front of the dugouts didn’t seem particularly dangerous, but Bruno Fernandes arrowed the ball into the Leicester penalty area where Maguire was one of no fewer than four United players in offside positions as he arrived on the edge of the six-yard box to plant a header past Mads Hermansen. VAR might not have overturned the handball but it would have picked up the offsides for sure, if it had only been in use. No wonder Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy was fuming. The former United striker has seen his fair share of late goals at Old Trafford and this one will have felt like a dagger to the heart. Even Amorim couldn’t get too carried away. ‘This game has nothing to do with Fergie time, ’ he said. ‘I cannot focus on saving the season with a cup, it is not the way I see football or Manchester United. I care about the moment and at the moment it is not good enough. Today was not a good day. ’ Leicester must be sick of the sight of United. This was their third defeat at Old Trafford this season and their second cup exit after losing here in the Carabao Cup as well as the Premier League. Joshua Zirkzee equalised from close range after Ramus Hojlund saw an effort blocked Bobby Decordova-Reid gave Leicester a shock lead with a header after an Andre Onana save Man United had found themselves facing the prospect of a second home defeat in six days Van Nistelrooy was United’s interim manager in both those games, but he was deemed surplus to requirements when Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon with his own backroom team in November. The Dutchman’s four-game unbeaten stint including three wins compares favourably with Amorim’s record of eight defeats in 20 games – and, to be fair, his own at Leicester which now reads nine defeats in 13 games – but for quite a while last night it looked like he would have the last laugh. Leicester had already had two attempts from Jordan Ayew and Bobby De Cordova-Reid when the latter fired them ahead four minutes before half-time. United’s new signing Patrick Dorgu got a header to Hermansen’s punt upfield and the ball fell to Manuel Ugarte who tried and failed to shield it from Boubakary Soumare. It was fed to Bilal El Khannouss and he accelerated past Leny Yoro before squaring a pass to Wilfred Ndidi inside the box. The Leicester captain’s side-footed effort was blocked by Andre Onana but De Cordova-Reid, standing in between Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui in the six-yard box, reacted quickest to nod home. Dorgu was one of United’s better players on his debut after a £29. 4million move from Lecce, despite the peculiar decision to play him on the right rather than the left, but he made way for Garnacho at half-time and it transformed the game. Zirkzee followed after the hour mark as Amorim once again accepted that playing Kobbie Mainoo in an advanced role hadn’t worked, juts as the Old Trafford crowd broke into a chorus of ‘attack, attack, attack’ and the TV cameras picked up Sir Alex Ferguson yawning in the directors’ box. Patrick Dorgu was give his Man United debut by Ruben Amorim and lined-up on the right flank Alejandro Garnacho came on for Dorgu at half-time and was central to Man United's fightback Caleb Okoli produced a goal line clearance against his own crossbar during the second half  United came agonisingly close to an equaliser in the 65th minute when Ugarte released Garnacho and he raced clear into the box. Wout Faes got a touch on his shot – United’s first on target in the whole game – which lifted the ball over Hermansen and towards goal. However, Caleb Okoli got back just in time and his miscued clearance rebounded off the underside of the bar and into the arms of Hermansen. Leicester’s reprieve was shortlived though as Garnacho helped make the breakthrough three minutes and 35 seconds after Zirkzee had come on. Yoro fed the Argentina winger down the left and he sped away from De Cordova-Reid before squaring. Rasmus Hojlund’s attempted flick was blocked by Faes and fell kindly to Zirkzee to fire home. The scene was set for Maguire’s cruel winner and United to survive by the skin of their teeth again. That’s eight FA Cup wins in a row now. As bad as they can be, it might take something special to knock them out. MAN UNITED (3-4-2-1): Onana 6; Yoro 6, Maguire 6, Mazraoui 5. 5; Dorgu 6. 5 (Garnacho 46, 8), Ugarte 5, Fernandes 6. 5, Dalot 5; Amad 7, Mainoo 5. 5 (Zirkzee 64, 7); Hojlund 5 Subs not used: Graczyk, De Ligt, Heaven, Lindelof, Casemiro, Collyer, Eriksen Goals: Zirkzee (68), Maguire (90+3) Manager: Ruben Amorim 6 LEICESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Hermansen 6; Justin 6. 5, Faes 6, Okoli 7, Thomas 5. 5 (Coulibaly 56, 6); Ndidi 6. 5 (Winks 57, 6. 5), Soumare 6; Ayew 7. 5, El Khannouss 6. 5, De Cordova-Reid 7 (Mc Ateer 72); Daka 6. 5 Subs not used: Stolarczyk, Coady, Mavididi, Skipp, Buonanotte, Monga Goals: De Cordova Reid (42) Manager: Ruud van Nistelrooy 7 Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group