Leicester City 1-0 Southampton
It may not have been an FA Cup semi-final for the purists, but Leicester City will not care one jot.
The 2016 league champions are through to the FA Cup final for the first time since 1969.
Southampton, winners in 1976, worked hard and could easily have taken the match – played in front of 4,000 spectators – to extra time.
However, a goal from Kelechi Iheanacho – the latest to his addition of FA Cup highlights – was sufficient to fire the Foxes back to Wembley next month where they will face Chelsea who have reached the final for the fourth time in five years.
Highlights of the game
The game was played in front of fans as part of a pilot scheme, with research being carried out on allowing them back into sporting events as coronavirus restrictions are eased.
Tickets were limited to residents of Brent – the north London borough where Wembley Stadium is situated – and key workers.
Few would have expected the Saints to be at the national stadium when they were humiliated at home by the same opponents 18 months ago, yet here they were with a glimpse of glory, such is the magic of the FA Cup.
Southampton have also shown this season they could be a match for the very best sides but the Sbotop FA Cup betting odds were very much in the favour of Leicester, third in the league.
That in itself, though, brought a degree of pressure as an FA Cup semi-final loss would trigger talk of another late-season wobble.
Indeed, failure to defeat a team who are 20 points below them in the Premier League could lead to accusations that Leicester were losing form at a crucial juncture, just as they threw away a substantial lead in the Premier League top four last term (albeit they were hit hard by injuries in the closing stages of the 2019/20 campaign).
In truth, this was a semi-final devoid of goalmouth action.
After a quiet start, Leicester went close just before the half-hour when a quick exchange between Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez combined to find Iheanacho who fired narrowly over.
Then Vardy, who had scored in all three of his previous appearances at Wembley for the club, was denied by goalkeeper Fraser Foster after a fine ball from Youri Tielemans.
Nine minutes after the restart came the crucial moment.
Vardy powered down the left and drove into the box before finding Iheanacho, whose first shot was blocked but the alert Nigerian tucked away the rebound.
It’s the sign of a dangerous striker when he comes alive even in the most quiet of games and here was Iheanacho proving an FA Cup hero again.
Southampton responded when Ibrahima Diallo fired just wide of the upright but, in truth, their failure to muster an effort on target ultimately meant Leicester deserved to win.
Substitute James Maddison twice went close to extending the advantage as Leicester progressed with the only shot on target throughout 90 minutes.
Keep the date – Saturday, May 15 – for the 2021 FA Cup Final between Leicester City and Chelsea.
Key statistics
Iheanacho is the first Nigerian player to score 15 goals in a season in all competitions for a Premier League club since Odion Ighalo scored 17 in 2015/16 for Watford.
Each of the last four goals scored at Wembley in the FA Cup have been scored by African players – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s brace in last season’s final, Hakim Ziyech for Chelsea yesterday and Iheanacho.
Leicester have reached their first FA Cup final since 1969, a gap of 52 years, the longest between finals since Portsmouth went 69 and Cardiff went 81 years between finals before facing one another in 2008.
This was Leicester City’s eighth appearance in an FA Cup semi-final and their first since 1982 when they lost to eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur.
Until today, Leicester had not beaten the Saints twice in a single campaign across all competitions since the 2011/12 Championship.
What’s next?
Strugglers West Brom are next in town for Leicester as they arrive at the King Power Stadium on Thursday night (April 22), four days before the Foxes host Crystal Palace in another Premier League encounter.
Southampton are at Spurs on Wednesday evening and then have over a week’s break before meeting Leicester again, this time in the league, on the south coast (May 1).
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