Jadon Sancho’s first-half strike secured victory for Manchester United against Leicester City in the East Midlands
In their latest Premier League clash, Manchester United travelled to the King Power Stadium to take on Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City.
The Red Devils came into the fixture chasing consecutive wins on the road after their 0-1 victory against Southampton last weekend.
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In a bid to secure all three points and a third straight league victory, Erik ten Hag named an unchanged eleven from the game on the south coast.
Lisandro Martinez retained his place in the side after picking up United’s August player of the month award with “the Butcher” looking to build on the impressive start to his Manchester United career.
However, Ten Hag would not hand summer signing Casemiro his first United start and elected to keep Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the second game in succession.
The Dutch manager’s statement signing Antony also did not feature in any capacity due to his late registration, despite being unveiled to the United faithful on deadline day.
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In the end, it was Jadon Sancho’s solitary strike in the first-half that secured the Red Devils the points in Leicester.
First Half
The opening period of the encounter saw both sides trade possession, with neither imposing themselves fully on the proceedings.
Brendan Rodger’s Leicester City started the game with a clear attacking intent as they looked to secure a vital three points, however, the first meaningful effort of the evening was from Manchester United.
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Intricate link-up play from the United forwards on the tenth minute ended with a shot from Christian Eriksen that just fizzed past the wrong side of Danny Ward’s near post.
After a cagey opening period from both teams, Erik ten Hag’s side looked to be settling into the game and were seeing the vast majority of possession.
Despite the Red Devil’s dominance of the ball, David De Gea was called into action for the first time on the 20th minute when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall blasted a free-kick towards goal, but the Spanish shot-stopper comfortably held onto the goal.
Only two minutes after Leicester’s first real attempt of the clash, Manchester United would make the most of their spells on the ball.
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Loose football from the foxes would present a golden opportunity to Bruno Fernandes who had two teammates racing ahead of him and only three Leicester defenders between him and the goal.
The Portuguese playmaker chose to slide through Marcus Rashford who in turn teed up his England teammate, with Jadon Sancho taking the ball round a stranded Danny Ward and opening the scoring for Erik ten Hag’s side.
This goal seemed to stun the King Power Stadium and Brendan Rodgers’ side, with Manchester United seeming increasingly confident in knocking the ball around the East Midlands outfit.
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As the first-half continued to unfold, Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United were in full flow, with the football from United being intense and proactive.
Even without the ball the Red Devils looked assured and confident as they pressed the Foxes and forced them on several occasions to turnover possession.
On the 35th minute, Jadon Sancho almost profited from United’s flowing football.
Marcus Rashford effortlessly drove through the Leicester defensive line and squared the ball for an unmarked Sancho, but the English winger saw his attempt ricochet into Danny Ward’s arms.
This would be Manchester United’s final offensive action of the first forty-five minutes, with Erik ten Hag’s side taking a comfortable 0-1 lead into the interval.
Second Half
Manchester United started the second period the liveliest and looked to build on their first-half momentum.
However, only four minutes after the restart, Leicester almost found an equaliser.
James Maddison struck a central free-kick towards the top corner, a strike that looked to have brought the foxes level, but David De Gea at full stretch denied the English playmaker and kept United’s lead intact.
Moments later, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall whipped a cross onto the head of Harvey Barnes, a cross that the winger could not divert towards the goal.
These early chances for the hosts showed that they would not be as easily dominated as they were in the first-half.
After this flurry of Leicester opportunities, Erik ten Hag would make his first change of the evening, with Casemiro being called upon to restore some control to his side.
The Brazilian midfielder's introduction reinstated a calmness to United’s play, with his one-touch passing and defensive presence on show at the King Power Stadium.
Despite the Brazilian’s introduction, Brendan Rodgers’ side still posed the larger attacking threat, therefore, Ten Hag elected to replace goal scorer Jadon Sancho with the ever dangerous Cristiano Ronaldo, knowing that all the Portuguese talisman would need was one chance in front of the Foxes goal to make a difference.
With ten minutes left on the clock, Manchester United should have secured the points.
Bruno Fernandes found Marcus Rashford with a looping cross-field pass. Rashford then released Ronaldo down the left channel who looked to square the ball for an unmarked Christian Eriksen to tap home, but a last ditch block from a Leicester defender defused the danger.
With one minute left on the clock it was almost a Leicester player that secured United the points. Bruno Fernandes fizzed a ball across the Leicester box which was diverted towards Danny Ward’s goal by an onrushing Kelechi Iheanacho, with the ball flying just over Ward’s crossbar.
Despite a resurgence from the hosts early in the second-half, Manchester United secured their third straight league victory.
Teams
Manchester United: David De Gea, Tyrell Malacia, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot, Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Elanga (Casemiro - 58’), Jadon Sancho (Cristiano Ronaldo - 68’), Marcus Rashford (Fred - 86’)
Subs: Tom Heaton, Matej Kovar, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek, Alejandro Garnacho
Leicester City: Danny Ward, James Justin, Jonny Evans, Wilfred Ndidi, Luke Thomas, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Youri Tielemans (Kelechi Iheanacho - 75’), Boubakary Soumare, James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Jamie Vardy (Patson Daka - 86’)
Subs: Daniel Iversen, Caglar Soyuncu, Daniel Amartey, Timothy Castagne, Marc Albrighton, Dennis Praet, Ayoze Perez
Featured Image Credit: Manchester UnitedTopics: Manchester United, Leicester City, Premier League, Erik Ten Hag