Sammie Szmodics stuns Leicester as Blackburn reach FA Cup quarter-finals

Blackburn stunned Leicester to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals as Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics cashed in on awful defending to secure a 2-1 win and send Rovers into the last eight for the first time since 2015. Kelechi Iheanacho pulled a goal back but the 2021 FA Cup winners were unable to find an equaliser in the last 23 minutes.

Brendan Rodgers celebrated four years in charge at the King Power Stadium on Sunday and this defeat marked his 200th game. No one can dispute the progress in his first two years, which culminated in the first FA Cup triumph in the club’s history, but this season in particular has been a slog.

Two wins in their past nine Premier League games has left them 14th but reaching an FA Cup quarter-final would have given a natural boost before the final scramble over the line.

Instead, defeat by Blackburn – inconsistent in an average Championship – is another nail in the coffin of a season that Leicester would rather forget. Not that Rovers were undeserving winners. They seized on every mistake – and there were many – to punish the hosts and maintained their composure as Leicester launched a late assault, with Daniel Amartey hitting the post.

Six changes, including a first start for Ricardo Pereira since May 2022 after his recovery from a ruptured achilles, did not initially dilute Leicester’s early quality and they should have gone ahead after eight minutes.

Dennis Praet was too unselfish when presented with space on the edge of the area and fed Tete who was denied by Aynsley Pears. The rebound, though, fell kindly for Praet who should have done better than fire straight at Pears.

The Blackburn goalkeeper then stood up to Jamie Vardy’s angled effort but, not to be outdone, the visitors created some