Maguire sends Manchester United into FA Cup semi-finals

Manchester United moved into the FA Cup semi-finals as Harry Maguire's strike late in extra time clinched a 2-1 win over 10-man Norwich on Saturday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side had to work hard for their place in the last four as Todd Cantwell forced extra time by cancelling out Odion Ighalo's opener at Carrow Road.

Norwich defender Timm Klose was sent off for hauling down Ighalo in the 89th minute and that eventually tipped the balance in United's favour.

They gradually wore Norwich down and England defender Maguire pounced to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions.

United, who won their 12th and most recent FA Cup in 2016, remain on course to reach the final for the second time in three years.

Exactly 114 days after United won at Derby in the fifth round on March 5, the FA Cup returned following the coronavirus hiatus with the competition's first ever match in June.

Solskjaer made eight changes as only Maguire, Luke Shaw and Bruno Fernandes survived from the midweek Premier League win against Sheffield United.

United's stand-ins were out of sync for much of a first half that followed the pattern of many post-lockdown matches, both teams lacking energy and invention.

In a rare threat, Maguire had to stop Lukas Rupp's shot with an alert block after Cantwell's run opened up the visitors' defence.

Solskjaer's team finally awoke from their slumber after the interval and grabbed the lead in the 51st minute.

Luke Shaw's cross was helped on by Juan Mata and Ighalo sniffed out the chance, flicking an agile finish past Tim Krul from inside the six-yard box.

The Nigerian has scored in each of his four United starts, making it five goals in 11 appearances since he arrived from Shanghai Shenhua in January.

Agence France-Presse