Leicester City were cruelly knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United on Friday night as the linesman failed to rule out Harry Maguire’s late winner.
With no VAR introduced till the FA Cup fifth round, Leicester were undone by poor officiating in the dying embers, as the linesman failed to see that Maguire was occupying an offside position before planting his header past Mads Hermansen.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was livid with the officiating, directing his anger towards the referees for making a blatant error which ultimately cost his side a chance to reach the fifth round.
Leicester fans were also fuming that Maguire’s goal counted, as were many neutrals around the globe, who couldn’t believe such a high-profile mistake was made.
Maguire’s late winner proved to be the difference, denying the Foxes a shot at extra-time, but there was arguably one call from Van Nistelrooy that equally cost his side.
Ruud van Nistelrooy made a mistake leaving James Justin on the pitch vs Man Utd
James Justin lined up as a right-back in Leicester’s 2-1 loss to Man United. The Englishman earned the call over new signing Woyo Coulibaly, who is waiting to make his full debut.
Leicester fans have criticised Justin for his poor performances this term, seeing him as a player who is out of his depth against superior teams.
In truth, Man United rarely tested him in the first half. Ruben Amorim’s men lacked pace in wide areas and rarely looked like threatening the Foxes right-back.
That soon changed, though, when Amorim brought on Alejandro Garnacho against a tiring Justin at half-time. The Argentine had instant joy against his opposite number, driving at him with searing pace and skill.
Justin was dribbled past on numerous occasions and if Garnacho had better end product, the hosts would have put the game to bed before Maguire’s late header.
Arguably, Van Nistelrooy made an error not bringing the full-back off for Coulibaly, who instead replaced Luke Thomas at left-back on the hour mark.
Victor Kristiansen’s absence from the squad perhaps meant this wasn’t possible however, leaving Justin on the pitch gave United encouragement, with Amorim even open about how he used Garnacho to exploit the tiring defender.
“You can feel 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,” the Man United boss said via Leicestershire Live. “So we are very happy with him and I think he helped a lot to change the game.”
Woyo Coulibaly is a better option than Justin
When Coulibaly came on in the second half, the Frenchman made a decent account of himself, winning three ground duels and completing 75% of his passes.
The 25-year-old must use this cameo as a platform to displace Justin in the starting lineup. He was signed for that exact reason, and the new signing will feel he can offer more solidity down the right.
Coulibaly was admittedly playing out of position last night but once Kristiansen is fully fit, he deserves to start over Justin at right-back.