Kelechi Iheanacho turned out to be a catalyst off the bench as he provided the assist that secured Leicester City’s place in the FA Cup quarter-finals following their 1-0 extra time win at Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
The Foxes overcame fellow Championship side Birmingham City in the fourth round with a 3-0 win but had it tough against the Cherries in the fifth round.
Despite a combined 37 goal attempts from the both teams, neither side was able to find the back of the net in 90 minutes.
This forced extra time and the floodgates finally opened towards the end of the first period when Iheanacho, who came on for Thomas Cannon in the 64th minute, laid the ball for Fatawu to drill in a beautiful curler from distance.
It was the Sporting Lisbon loanee’s second goal in his last four competitive games and fourth overall for the season while it was Iheanacho’s first game and goal involvement since returning from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations where he won the silver medal with the Super Eagles.
Leicester outfox the Cherries ????
A moment of individual brilliance from @LCFC winger Abdul Fatawu was enough to seal a 1-0 victory for the Championship side over their Premier League hosts! ✨ pic.twitter.com/45fhDjT4S0
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 28, 2024
Speaking after the game, Leicester manager Enzo Maresca said of Fatawa: “He probably shoots 25 times (from that position) during his time at Leicester and finally he scored that one tonight. I remember many other shots in the stands from him so if we are to wait another 25 shots, it’s a bit long!
“I think we had once again many chances. We missed all of them but at the end it’s important to create chances and to be more clinical for sure.”
Leicester will return to taking command of the Championship with a home tie against Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
