DONNY VAN DE BEEK lifted the world from his shoulders in a rare start for Manchester United with a brilliant dummy to tee-up Mason Greenwood’s FA Cup equaliser at Leicester.
The under-pressure Dutchman showed amazing understanding and quick thinking to shimmy out of the way after Paul Pogba capped his own superb work down the left with a byline cross.
Greenwood instantly completed a piece of amazing instinctive play from the trio as he arrived at speed for a lashing left-footer into the bottom corner.
That 38th minute goal cancelled out a huge blunder from Van de Beek’s midfield partner Fred.
The Brazilian slotted the ball back towards his six-yard area for Dean Henderson but Kelechi Iheanacho nipped in to round the keeper and slip Leicester in front amid a thrilling quarter-final at the King Power Stadium.
Van de Beek’s decisive intervention 12 minutes later left the former Ajax superstar looking relieved as well as delighted – as he celebrated joyfully with Pogba and Co after a bleak start to his Old Trafford career.
However, Greenwood’s strike was ultimately in vain as Tielemans and Iheanacho, again, struck after the break to send the Foxes to Wembley, and a clash against Southampton.
While Van de Beek was replaced by Bruno Fernandes in a quadruple change just after the hour mark.
Nonetheless, Van de Beek’s golden moment should help him shrug off some of the speculation over his future.
That talk spiralled last week when Ajax legend Ronald de Boer claimed the 23-year-old was “not happy” with his Old Trafford situation.
But Ronald, brother of Van de Beek’s Holland boss Frank, denied the playmaker was already seeking a transfer.
He told TalkSport 2: “I spoke to Ajax and they said there’s no truth in it at all.
“He didn’t ask to speak to them. He’s just focusing on his recovery on his ankle. and it’s not true that he asked Man United to leave.
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“His agent also told me that of course he’s not happy that he’s not playing.
“He’s not worried, of course he wants to play every game. But he’s not worried that he can’t succeed.
“But he’s not panicking at all, he told his agent he’s so happy at Man United because the club is one of the best in terms of how they treat him, he feels loved.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
