Of the four Nigeria-eligible players who tasted action in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, only Odion Ighalo has been selected in the FA Cup Team of the Quarter-Finals by Whoscored.
Both Arsenal wonderkid Bukayo Saka and Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi went the distance against Sheffield United and Chelsea respectively, while Adam Idah played the last two minutes for Norwich City.
Joining Ighalo in the Team of the quarter-finals are four of his teammates at Manchester United, namely fullbacks Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw, center-back Harry Maguire, and midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
The Shanghai Shenhua loanee showed his poacher’s instinct with an acrobatic effort to break the deadlock five minutes into the second half against the Canaries and was also involved in the build-up to the match-winning goal.
Ighalo was awarded a rating of 7.35 for his efforts against Norwich City.
He attempted 2 shots one of which was on target, won 2 aerial duels, won two fouls for his team, and completed 68.4 percent of his passes.
Ighalo and Ross Barkley are the top scorers left in the FA Cup with three goals each after they both got on the scoresheet last weekend.
Solskjaer’s side had to work hard for their last-four place as Harry Maguire won it late in extra time at Carrow Road.
Odion Ighalo’s opener was canceled out by Norwich’s Todd Cantwell, but Canaries defender Timm Klose was sent off for hauling down Ighalo in the 89th minute.
United 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. “I’m delighted to be in the last four.
Many of these players did not play the last game and now have 90 or 120 minutes in their legs,” Solskjaer said.
“We made many changes so I didn’t make it easy for the players. The game was not the greatest spectacle but I felt we kept the ball ok. “It is great to have the option to rotate.
Anthony Martial came on and did brilliant, but Odion Ighalo gives me a chance to rotate. “He is a proven goalscorer and played his part in both goals.”
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.
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