Blackburn Rovers have booked their place in the FA Cup Quarter-Finals for the first time since 2015 after stunning Premier League Leicester City 2-1.
Goals from Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics were enough to beat the Foxes after a disappointing performance saw Brendan Rodgers’ side crash out of the competition.
Kelechi Iheanacho came off the bench to give Leicester a glimmer of hope in the second half, but an abysmal first-half performance gave the East Midlands side too much to do.
However, the Championship side produced a top performance and if it was not for heroics from Daniel Iversen the Lancashire side could have been four or five goals up.
Leicester have been knocked out by Championship opposition for the second season in a row after they were beaten by Nottingham Forest last season, but Blackburn are now one step from Wembley and will eagerly await the Quarter-Final draw on Wednesday, March 1st after the Sheffield United vs Tottenham tie on BBC One.
Leicester City
Daniel Iversen – 7/10
Without the Danish goalkeeper, Leicester could have been 5-0 down. Made a sensational stop to deny Dolan just as it looked like he was going to slam home. Was not helped out by his backline.
Ricardo Pereira – 6/10
On his first start of the season, the right-back put in a solid performance. Looked a little off the pace at times but on the whole, looked solid. The most important thing was that he came through unscathed.
Wout Faes – 6/10
Made a brilliant tackle on the cover as it looked like Sam Gallagher was going to get through in goal. Rarely put a foot wrong but was part of a defence that looked really shaky.
Daniel Amartey – 3/10
An awful performance from the Ghanaian who gave the ball away to Dolan who punished and opened the scoring and was far too weak in the tackle for Blackburn’s second. A bonus point for hitting the post with a header.
Luke Thomas – 2/10
The left-back had a disaster tonight, giving possession away 18 times and not winning a tackle or an interception all night. Lost the ball far too easily in the build-up to Blackburn’s second goal and was turned inside out which resulted in a booking. A night to forget.
Boubakary Soumare - 3/10
The Frenchman was far too casual in the midfield. Looked a yard behind the Blackburn midfield. Too many times his passes out wide were behind the wingers. Blackburn broke too easily through the Leicester midfield and Soumare went missing on too many occasions.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 5/10
Got into good positions but his end product was lacking. Looked a bit clumsy at times and was dispossessed multiple times. Not his finest night.
Dennis Praet – 5/10
Should have put Leicester ahead early on but his shot was overthought and straight at the Blackburn keeper. Failed to impose himself on the game and lacked creativity. He is not a natural replacement for the creative James Maddison.
Harvey Barnes – 6/10
Showed promise but wasted opportunities. Good assist to set up Iheanacho. Was not helped by Soumare’s passing with the winger having to go back to pick up the ball.
Tetê – 4/10
Looked decent in the first half and forced Pears into a good save. Did well to find Barnes with a long ball in the build-up to Leicester’s goal. But should be offering more in this type of game.
Jamie Vardy – 3/10
Survived on rations all game. Had a decent chance in the first half but was straight at the keeper. Has not looked like his former self all season. Tried to be too clever with little back-heel passes that did not come off.
Substitutes
Victor Kristiansen – 5/10
Was an improvement on Thomas and strengthened the backline.
Nampalys Mendy – 6/10
Almost picked out the top corner with a fine strike. Broke up the play much better than Soumare.
Timothy Castagne – 5/10
Did not have much of an impact. Got in down the right on a couple of occasions but could not pick out a quality cross.
Patson Daka – 5/10
Did not have much of an impact and was wrestled off the ball too easily.
Kelechi Iheanacho – 7/10
His introduction changed the game, Leicester looked like a much better side. The Nigerian scored his 18th FA Cup goal and his third of the season. The question is why did he not start?
Blackburn Rovers
Aynsley Pears – 7/10
Had little to do other than pick the ball out of his net for Leicester’s goal.
Joe Rankin-Costello – 7/10
Was forced off with an injury but managed to keep Barnes quiet on the whole, and it was only when he went off that Barnes got free down the left.
Hayden Carter -7/10
Kept Vardy quiet, tracking his runs and limiting his touches.
Dominic Hyam – 6/10
Like Carter, the centre-back pairing worked together to ensure Vardy did not get on the scoresheet. Began to look shaky when Iheanacho was introduced.
Harry Pickering – 7/10
Linked well with Dolan down the left-hand side and managed to deal with the flair and trickery of the Brazilian Tetê.
Lewis Travis - 8/10
Dominated the midfield battle and broke through the lines really easily. Had a good range of passing and ran the show from the Blackburn midfield.
Tyler Morton – 8/10
Added bite to the Blackburn midfield winning the ball back from Leicester and stopping any Leicester attacks. Won the battle with Dewsbury-Hall.
Ryan Hedges – 8/10
Had Thomas on strings in the opening 45 minutes forcing the young left-back into multiple mistakes. Thomas will be having nightmares tonight of Hedges.
Sammie Szmodics – 8/10
Took his goal really well after muscling his way through two Leicester tackles and having the composure to slot past Iversen to double the Blackburn advantage.
Tyrhys Dolan - 9/10
Was the best player on the pitch. He looked a danger all night and his pace and trickery caused Leicester big problems. Dolan read the game well to intercept Amartey’s wayward pass and took his goal brilliantly.
Sam Gallagher – 8/10
A proper centre forward’s performance from Gallagher, he worked hard defensively by tracking back and putting in tackles and held the ball up well.
Callum Brittain – 6/10
Replaced the injured Rankin-Costello and filled in for him well, helping see out the final 30 minutes.
Jack Vale – 6/10
Nothing of note.
John Buckley – N/A
Nothing of note.
Ashley Phillips – N/A
Nothing of note.