80 passes, 7 duels won – Rúben Amorim has found Lisandro Martínez’s replacement as “superb” unseen change pays off

Rúben Amorim has found his Lisandro Martínez replacement as a “superb” Manchester United change pays off vs Leicester City in the FA Cup.

Manchester United have secured their place in the FA Cup fifth round after Harry Maguire’s dramatic stoppage-time header sealed victory over Leicester City on Friday night.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side arrived at Old Trafford with a clear game plan, soaking up United’s early pressure and keeping them at bay for much of the first half. Despite growing into the game, United found themselves trailing just before the break as Bobby De Cordova-Reid struck to put Leicester ahead. Meanwhile, Rúben Amorim’s men failed to register a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

Looking for a response, Amorim introduced Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee after the interval. Garnacho came closest to making an instant impact, seeing his effort cleared off the line, sparking the Old Trafford crowd into life.

United continued to push forward, and their persistence paid off when a deflected Rasmus Højlund effort fell kindly for Zirkzee, who fired home the equaliser.

The hosts pressed relentlessly in search of a winner, and deep into stoppage time, their moment arrived. Bruno Fernandes produced a pinpoint free kick, floating the ball perfectly into the box, where Maguire rose highest to guide a brilliant header into the net, completing the comeback and sending United through in dramatic fashion.

Amorim has found his Martínez replacement

While much of the praise will rightly go to Garnacho for his fantastic efforts in the second half, one player who has gone completely under the radar for his performance on Friday evening is Leny Yoro.

Although the 19-year-old started on the right of Amorim’s back three, at half time, he switched to the left hand side after Noussair Mazraoui failed to provide adequate cover in the opening 45 minutes.

Amorim was trialling Mazraoui as a replacement for left centre-back Lisandro Martínez, who has been ruled out for the season through injury. However, the Moroccan international looked uncomfortable at points. Once Yoro slotted into the role, he was “superb” at Old Trafford.

With Garnacho coming on at half-time, many did not spot that Amorim chose to swap the centre-backs either side of Maguire. It was a brilliant change from the 40-year-old that paid off.

Across the fixture, Yoro completed 80 of his 88 attempted passes, having 99 touches across his 90 minutes and looking particularly impressive when stepping into the midfield on the left in the second half.

He also made six passes into the final third across the tie, something Martínez had been providing in bucketloads during 2025 so far.

In terms of defending, he made four recoveries, two interceptions, and won seven of his duels, also drawing a foul and was only dispossessed once across the 90 minutes.

Beyond this, the switch also allowed Mazraoui to become much more creative with his right foot, and the benefits of this was seen multiple times as the defender found Garnacho with cross-field passes during the second half.

Yoro predicted his performance on the left

Although Yoro is naturally right-footed, his great performance will not come as a surprise to those who watched his recent interview with Rio Ferdinand.

“Of course, I’m right-footed so it’s more easy for me sometimes on the right but I really like to play on the left,” explained Yoro on Ferdinand’s YouTube channel.

“Because when I come inside I can put a long-ball to the striker or [play into] the middle. It’s no problem for me.”

With Ayden Heaven the only left-footed first-team centre-back available for Amorim right now, Yoro put in a fantastic audition to Amorim as the head coach looks for long-term cover on the left.

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