Harry Maguire came back to haunt Leicester City as the club’s former centre-back scored a controversial last-gasp header to knock them out of the FA Cup at Manchester United.

Extra-time beckoned after Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Joshua Zirkzee had each scored rebounds either side of half-time. But in the third minute of added time, Maguire popped up at the back post and headed in.

Replays showed he was offside as the ball was played in, but with no VAR in play the goal stood, City were eliminated and Ruud van Nistelrooy is left to nurse the wounds of yet another defeat.

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Having described the competition as a privilege to play in, van Nistelrooy was always likely to field a full-strength team. However, he was forced into three changes with Jannik Vestergaard, Victor Kristiansen and Jamie Vardy out with the “light injuries” he mentioned on Thursday.

Caleb Okoli came in for his first start under the Dutchman, while Luke Thomas and Patson Daka were called up for their second. The fourth and final change saw fit-again Wilfred Ndidi captain the team, Harry Winks dropping out.

After conceding twice inside five minutes at Everton, City wanted a good start. They got more than that, and led at the break. In all truth, their cause was helped by a shockingly-poor United display, but City were solid.

They had the game’s first chance when Daka, using his pace to cause United problems, scampered onto a long ball and set it back for Jordan Ayew, whose shot was saved by Andre Onana. It was one of only four shots in the opening 40 minutes of the game.

In fact, City’s scariest moment came when Mads Hermansen dropped a corner underneath his own bar. Thankfully, the Dane grasped it again as it bounced towards the goal-line.

With time ticking down on a drab first half, City grabbed the lead. Boubakary Soumare pinched the ball, Bilal El Khannouss produced a piece of skill to create space and tee up Wilfred Ndidi. His shot was saved by Onana but De Cordova-Reid was in the perfect spot to nod the rebound over the line.

United were booed off at the break and City were keen to ensure the crowd remained disgruntled. They pressed hard and forced simple mistakes out of the hosts. When United did break through, City had players running back determinedly to avert danger.

But Ruben Amorim had brought Alejandro Garnacho on at half-time and he became the difference-maker. He thought he had equalised when he burst past James Justin and saw a deflected shot loop over Hermansen, only for Okoli to slide in and superbly clear off the goal-line, the Italian hammering the ball up against his own crossbar and away.

But City could not keep Garnacho quiet. He again found space on the left and crossed low, with Rasmus Hojlund’s backheel blocked by Wout Faes. The ball rebounded kindly to substitute Zirkzee, and he rolled the ball into the net with Hermansen already committed.

The United pressure kept coming and Garnacho put a shot into the side-netting. But the tie seemed destined for extra-time, until Maguire escaped Soumare and Woyo Coulibaly to head in the late winner.

Here's how we scored the City players...

Mads Hermansen: He’s still shaking that rust off, it seems. His passing was more composed than it was at Everton but he very nearly dropped a corner into his own net. Committed himself for Hojlund’s blocked shot for the Zirkzee goal and didn’t get near Maguire’s header. 5

James Justin: His searching balls to Daka caused trouble for United and he was solid defensively too for the first 45 minutes. But then when Garnacho came on, he had all sorts of trouble keeping him quiet, Justin unable to get close enough to stop the Argentinian making the difference. 5

Wout Faes: He was fooled by Hojlund in one second-half moment, but otherwise defended solidly, positioning himself well inside the box to clear crosses when United started to pile on the pressure. His partnership with Okoli seemed stronger than with Vestergaard. 6

Caleb Okoli: A really good outing. He used his strength well and got a toe in regularly. He bailed out team-mates too by covering the space well. And then he produced a superb goal-line clearance. 7

Luke Thomas: His eagerness to intercept passes just got the better of him. He didn’t do too badly when he stood up Dorgu and Amad, but when he dived in to intercept and missed, he left gaping holes behind him, and it began to frustrate van Nistelrooy. On the ball, he lost it a couple of times too. 4

Wilfred Ndidi: There was a lack of conviction in his passing at times, perhaps understandable after two months out, and there were a couple of moments where he was just not quite sharp enough to reach a loose ball. But he still brought a physical presence and his late run and shot helped set up the goal. 6

Boubakary Soumare: He was too negative on the ball early on, looking backwards too regularly, but he improved quickly. He won the ball back for the goal, made some excellent recovery runs to guard to marshal the edge of the box well, and surged forward from time to time too. 7

Bobby De Cordova-Reid: He was the man in the right place to score City’s goal, but he wasn’t really involved beyond that. He wasted a first-half chance with a poor decision in the box and didn’t affect City’s attack all that much. 5

Bilal El Khannouss: United closed him out of the game early on, but once he started getting it to feet, he was a joy to watch again. There were loads of cute touches, he produced a great bit of skill to help set up the goal, and looked confident in everything he did. 7

Jordan Ayew: He connected well with Daka in particular and when he wasn’t slipping over, he was effective in City’s attack. He kept the ball well and made the right choices with his passes too. 6

Patson Daka: He was alert to United mistakes, used his pace well and provided decent lay-offs to keep City’s attack ticking over. But he just wasn’t a threat in the box. 6

Woyo Coulibaly: He defended well in one-v-ones initially, but then he started losing the ball, either by having it pinched off him, or by passing poorly. Maguire was his man for the last-gasp goal, although given he was offside, it can’t be judged on that. 4

Harry Winks: Kept the ball well when he first came on, but when United’s pressure built, he started to make mistakes, giving up possession and allowing the home side to overwhelm City. He just doesn’t have the physical presence of Ndidi either. 5

Kasey McAteer: Turned backwards when he had space to run into and didn’t help Justin shut down Garnacho. Didn’t affect the game in attack. 4

Facundo Buonanotte: Barely involved. Striker’s not his position, but it remains the case that the argument to start him becomes weaker every time he doesn’t affect the game from the bench. 4

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