Manchester United ruthlessly eliminated Leicester City from the FA Cup on Friday night after the linesman failed to rule out Harry Maguire’s late winner.
Leicester was defeated by bad officiating in the closing seconds because there was no VAR in place until the FA Cup fifth round. The linesman missed Maguire’s header past Mads Hermansen because he was occupied an offside position.
The officials made a glaring mistake that ultimately denied his team a chance to advance to the fifth round, which infuriated Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was furious with the officiating.
Along with many neutrals worldwide, Leicester supporters were incensed that Maguire’s goal was scored because they couldn’t believe such a prominent error had been made.
The Foxes were denied a chance at extra time by Maguire’s late winner, but Van Nistelrooy made a judgment that may have cost his team just as much.
Against Manchester United, Ruud van Nistelrooy erred by leaving James Justin on the field.
When Leicester lost to Manchester United 2-1, James Justin started as a right-back. Woyo Coulibaly, a recent addition who is awaiting his full debut, was passed up for the call in favor of the Englishman.
As a player who is out of his depth against better teams, Justin has drawn criticism from Leicester supporters for his subpar performances this season.
Actually, he wasn’t often put to the test by Man United in the first half. Ruben Amorim’s team rarely appeared to be a threat to the Foxes right-back and lacked speed in wide areas.
However, that quickly changed when Amorim substituted Alejandro Garnacho at halftime against a fatigued Justin. With blistering speed and ability, the Argentine drove at his opponent with immediate satisfaction.
Justin was repeatedly dribbled past, and the home team would have ended the match before Maguire’s late header if Garnacho had produced a stronger final product.
Van Nistelrooy may have erred by failing to substitute Coulibaly for the full-back, since Coulibaly took Luke Thomas’ spot at left-back at the hour mark.
Perhaps Victor Kristiansen’s absence from the team prevented this, but United were encouraged by Justin’s presence on the field, and Amorim was even candid about using Garnacho to take advantage of the weary defense.
According to Leicestershire Live, the Man United manager stated, “You can tell the opponent was getting tired, Justin, with a lot of difficulties, not in the first half but in the second half, to stop Garnacho in the one against on.” “So, we are really pleased with him, and I believe he played a significant role in changing the game.”
It’s preferable to go with Woyo Coulibaly than Justin.
The Frenchman did a respectable job of himself when he entered the game in the second half, winning three ground duels and completing 75% of his passes.
In order to replace Justin in the starting lineup, the 25-year-old needs to take advantage of this cameo. That is precisely why he was signed, and the new addition will believe he can provide more stability down the right.
Although Coulibaly was playing out of position last night, Kristiansen should start at right-back instead of Justin once he is fully recovered.
For more:https://sportchannel.co.uk/2025/02/08/forget-harry-mag…telrooy-decision/
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