James Maddison's return to the starting line-up came as a huge boost to Brendan Rodgers as Leicester City avoided an FA Cup shock to move into the last 16 with victory at Walsall.
Premier League strugglers Leicester won 1-0 at the League Two outfit on Saturday.
Youri Tielemans hit the post with a penalty but substitute Kelechi Iheanacho sent the Foxes into the fifth round with a deflected strike from just outside the area 22 minutes from time.
FA Cup specialist Iheanacho now has 17 goals in his 23 matches in the competition, while attacking midfielder Maddison – who has been a transfer target for Newcastle United and Tottenham – made his first start since November 12 when he suffered an injury before the World Cup.
"There were lots of positives as well as the result, including James Maddison coming back in," said Leicester boss Rodgers, who led the team FA Cup glory in 2021.
"[Maddison] needs his football fitness now. He's such a big talent. Just trying to get him up to speed and this was a great chance for him.
"I was really pleased. It was getting him onto the pitch as it's a long time since he's been out there. He's worked hard and got a good 60 minutes, which was the plan. We saw how he was at half-time.
"He has a way to go yet in terms of his football fitness but he has been training the last little bit and he's such a big talent for us, when he's on the pitch anything can happen."
Rodgers added: "We could have been more comfortable with some of the chances we missed but the attitude of the players was excellent.
"We've seen it in the last round, the difficulties these sorts of games can provide. I always try to respect the competition and put out a strong side
"The last time [Iheanacho] was scoring we won the FA Cup, so hopefully it's an omen. He will get more game time as Jamie Vardy is out for a few weeks.
"Maybe because he's not been a starter for so many teams, when he gets his chance in the FA Cup, he takes his chance and he scores. He has made a great impact in the competition since I've been here."
Leeds United joined Leicester in progressing by beating lower-league opposition, winning 3-1 away to Accrington Stanley.
Ilkay Gundogan makes FA Cup final history with quickfire goal inside 12 seconds
Ilkay Gundogan set a new FA Cup final record when he scored after just 12 seconds against Manchester United.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the other quickfire goals from finals.
Roberto Di Matteo (43 seconds) – Chelsea v Middlesbrough, 1997The Italian scored after just 43 seconds to set Chelsea on their way to a 2-0 win over, with Eddie Newton getting a late second.
Dennis Wise started the move midway inside Chelsea’s half and found Di Matteo, who was still inside the centre circle.
The midfielder was allowed to continue running by the Boro midfield before rifling in high, clipping the bar, past Ben Roberts in goal.
Louis Saha (25 seconds) – Everton v Chelsea, 2009Di Matteo’s record stood for 12 years until striker Saha bettered it against Chelsea.
A cross by Steven Pienaar was only half cleared by the Chelsea defence allowing Marouane Fellaini to nod the ball down for Saha.
The former Manchester United striker still had plenty to do but swivelled to bury a fine first-time half-volley past Petr Cech.
It failed to stop Chelsea, though, as Didier Drogba levelled 20 minutes later before Frank Lampard’s second-half winner.
Ilkay Gundogan (12 seconds) – Manchester City v Manchester United, 2023The midfielder stunned United with a goal after just 12 seconds of this year’s final.
He had actually taken kick-off and knocked the ball back to Stefan Ortega in the City goal.
The goalkeeper launched the ball forward for Erling Haaland to nod it on.
As Kevin De Bruyne challenged Victor Lindelof, the ball dropped for Gundogan to smash in a brilliant volley past the static David De Gea from 25 yards.
Kris Doolan believes Partick Thistle have Premiership credentials
Kris Doolan believes Partick Thistle have all the ingredients of a cinch Premiership team as they stand on the brink of a return to the top flight.
The Jags will take a 2-0 lead from the first leg of their play-off final against Ross County to Dingwall for the return game on Sunday.
Doolan, who stepped up from the club’s academy to take over from Ian McCall in February – initially as interim boss – has total belief in his squad, the first team to finish fourth in the second tier to go all the way to the play-off final.
Former Thistle striker Doolan, who lost a play-off final against Livingston in 2018, said: “Ian McCall built this squad and he deserves a lot of credit for that because it is a fantastic squad.
“To me it is a Premiership squad and we have managed to find a shape and a style of play that suits us.
“We play to our strengths but ultimately there are guys in there who have played hundreds of games at Premiership level.
“It is not as if we are a young side who are wet behind the ears, we don’t understand what the games are all about. They know how to get through games.
“You look in their eyes, they are desperate to be in the Premiership.
“They have a one-track mind and that is what we have tried to instil. We have tried to instil a winning mentality, a winning environment and winning breeds winning.
“I say that all the time but it becomes a habit and it is a habit that is hard to break but likewise if you are losing games, it is a hard habit to break that as well.
“I have been on the flip side of it coming out the Premiership, I know what it is like in these play-off games, when there is so much at stake it is difficult to stop a team with momentum coming into the last game especially, even though you might be at home. It is still a difficult thing to stop.
“We have had five games under real pressure in the play-offs but the players play as if there is no pressure. We have nothing to lose. We have everything to gain.
“Ross County are the team who could potentially come out of the Premiership. But for us, we will go up there with the mentality to win and hopefully get the job done.”
Malky Mackay does not want his Ross County players to dwell on defeat
Malky Mackay told his Ross County players to quickly forget their Maryhill misery to focus on overturning Partick Thistle’s cinch Premiership play-off final advantage.
The Staggies lost 2-0 in the first leg at Firhill on Thursday night to leave themselves with a huge task in the return game in Dingwall on Sunday.
County had 16-year-old defender Dylan Smith sent off in between Aidan Fitzpatrick’s early strike and Brian Graham’s late first-half goal which put the Championship outfit in the box seat in the tie.
Boss Mackay is aware of the severe ramifications of removal from the Premiership but said: “At the end of the game I had 10-15 minutes with them and I spoke about getting their disappointment out (of) the way just now.
“By the time we get on that bus and go up the road I want them focused on recovering and nothing else but going out there with a positive mindset on Sunday afternoon.
“It is half-time. We are 2-0 down with 90 minutes to go. The only thing that will be on their minds is going out there to beat Partick Thistle.”
Mackay hopes the County fans turn out on Sunday to give their side a better chance of recovering the tie against a side who have gone 11 games unbeaten.
Asked what his message to the Staggies supporters was, he said: “Just to keep sticking with us. They were great on Thursday night.
“It is a long way to the Highlands and it was great that so many came down.
“There was a wee bit of misfortune as far as the sending off, that changes the dynamics of the game but I think they will see players trying for the jersey.
“You (have) seen the blocks that the players were putting in at the end and if nothing else you will see players that are trying really hard to make sure that we pull this back. So I would imagine that there will be a good crowd at Dingwall.”
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