Man Utd 2-1 Leicester: Foxes manager Van Nistelrooy rues lack of VAR in FA Cup defeat

Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, leading Leicester City back to Old Trafford in the FA Cup, faced a controversial injury-time header from Harry Maguire that ultimately eliminated his team. He has a new interpretation of this dramatic result, moving beyond the concept of "Fergie Time."

In a post-match interview with ITV, Van Nistelrooy stated that the team didn't lose to "Fergie Time," but rather to "Offside Time." He believes that with the score at 1-1 and the game entering the third minute of injury time, about to go into extra time, Maguire was clearly in an offside position when Bruno Fernandes took the free kick, but the referee wrongly allowed the goal.

Since there was no Video Assistant Referee (VAR) available for this match, the referee's decision became final. Facing the media after the game, Van Nistelrooy still felt strongly about the call, expressing that "we are very disappointed," believing that the team's performance should not be negated by an obvious error, which is unacceptable in such a high-level match.

Van Nistelrooy added: "After a week of preparation and reacting after the Everton defeat, the team performed excellently, but it was decided by a clear and obvious mistake, which is unacceptable and unbelievable. We have no choice but to pick ourselves up. This is not what the team deserved." He also emphasized that this wasn't a matter of VAR needing millimeter-precise judgment, but a clear offside of about half a meter.

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim admitted that his team benefited from the call and believes it proves the importance of VAR, even though his team benefited from its absence in this instance. He stated: "With VAR, the goal wouldn't have stood. I think it's important to have VAR because it's fair for the game. Losing in this way with an offside is tough. But we deserved a bit of luck."

Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane believes that the focus of the argument shouldn't be whether VAR is needed, but that the assistant referee should have been able to spot the obvious error. Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright also stated that the assistant referee's positioning affected his judgment, which impacted Van Nistelrooy's coaching career, as it was another loss. He added that this was a chance for Leicester City to boost their confidence, but now they have to regroup due to the referee's mistake.

Although Amorim admitted that the goal was cruel for his opponents, he believes his team needed a bit of luck. Since the Portuguese coach took over in November, Manchester United's performance has been inconsistent. While he and the club's fans will welcome the victory, there are still some causes for concern.

Manchester United's first-half performance was poor again, failing to register a single shot on target and falling behind to a goal from Decordova-Reid. Amorim gave a debut to January signing Patrick Dorgu, but he played him at right wing-back, despite the 20-year-old more often playing at left-back. Amorim was seen giving the former Lecce player a lot of instructions before substituting him at half-time.

Amorim explained: "I was trying to help Dorgu control the game. He's only had three training sessions, so it was difficult for him. If you see Dorgu's history, he's played a lot of games on the right. Sometimes you need a left-footed player on the right to connect from the inside and connect in a different way." Dorgu was replaced by Alejandro Garnacho, whose introduction changed the game, his pace caused problems on the left, his deflected shot was brilliantly cleared off the line, and he then delivered the cross that led to Joshua Zirkzee's equalizing goal.

Garnacho had been linked with a move away from Old Trafford in the winter transfer window, but Amorim seems keen to keep him, and his impact in this match showed why. Maguire said: "He made a big impact. He always does when he comes on, so credit to him, he's ready, he's focused."