Manchester United secured progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a fantastic 5-3 win on penalties against Arsenal away at the Emirates on Sunday.
The win was even more special as the visitors had to do it while having to play with 10 men for over an hour after Diogo Dalot was shown a second yellow in the second half.
The win means the Red Devils have set-up a date with former interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy who will bring his Leicester City team to Old Trafford in about a month’s time, on February 8.
United were first out of the hat in the draw, which was held immediately after United secured progress, and they will face a team they have already beaten twice this season.
Date with Ruud
But those wins came when the former Dutch striker was at the helm, with the Old Trafford side winning their Carabao Cup fourth round tie 5-2, while thrashing the Foxes 3-0 in the Premier League.
Steve Cooper subsequently lost his job and so did Van Nistelrooy, who wanted to stay and work under Ruben Amorim, but the Portuguese had other ideas.
The magic of the cup ❤️🏆
Our fourth-round opponents at Old Trafford: Leicester City and the return of @RvN1776…#MUFC || #FACup pic.twitter.com/HWvlTUx18J
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 12, 2025
The ex-Netherlands striker, who had returned to Manchester as part of former manager Erik ten Hag’s staff last summer, was not too pleased with the decision to part ways and he will be looking to send a message to both INEOS and Amorim.
Ruud will be looking to make a statement
Van Nistelrooy has not had an easy time at Leicester, winning only one league game since his arrival with the Foxes in 19th and looking favourites alongwith Southampton for the drop.
But he will definitely be up for the challenge as will his Foxes be. United will need to match that intensity when they come to town.
Just like they did against the Gunners as the 10-men of United held firm under pressure with two unlikely heroes in Altay Bayindir and Alejandro Garnacho producing the goods.
Under Amorim, the 13-time FA Cup winners have shown their big-game temperament but now need to produce in the other games like the tie against Leicester if they are salvage the season.
The FA Cup does signify their best shot at success this campaign.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
