Manchester United travelled to Leicester City on Saturday night following a disappointing Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Bristol City in midweek. Jose Mourinho was hoping that his Red Devils would bounce back against the Foxes and opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation at the King Power Stadium. The home team began the match well and took an early lead through a breakaway goal from Jamie Vardy. However, Mourinho’s Manchester United responded just before half-time through Juan Mata’s clever finish from inside the box. They kept the pressure on after the break and scored their second goal through Juan Mata’s brilliant free-kick which completed the turnaround. However, there was a sting in the tail for the Red Devils as Harry Maguire equalised late in injury-time to conjure up a draw for the 10 men of Leicester City.
Let’s see how the Manchester United players fared on the night.
GK: David De Gea – 6/10
The in-form United keeper couldn’t keep a clean sheet on the night and conceded two goals to the Foxes. There were no heroics from him this time around as Leicester City were clinical in front of goal.
RB: Victor Lindelof – 5/10
He had a poor game at right-back for the Red Devils and the Foxes’ attack ran him ragged. However, he did make an important block in the second half to somewhat redeem himself.
CB: Phil Jones – 6/10
The English centre-back’s positioning was all wrong for the Leicester opener but he did well to come back strong afterwards.
CB: Chris Smalling – 5/10
He failed to convert a great chance to put his team ahead and could do nothing about the opening goal when Riyad Mahrez set up Jamie Vardy. His injury ultimately cost his team two points as he was helpless in the United backline when Marc Albrighton put in a great cross for Harry Maguire’s equaliser.
LB: Ashley Young – 5/10
He was caught out of position during Leicester’s first goal and his delivery from corners was poor, to say the least.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 5/10
The Serbian was caught in possession when his pass was intercepted for the Leicester breakaway which resulted in the opening goal of the contest.
CM: Paul Pogba -6/10
His long-range shooting was way off the mark in the first half. However, he came back strong after the break and put in a strong second-half showing.
RM: Jesse Lingard – 5/10
He linked up well with his team-mates in the final third but was wasteful with his chances that ultimately cost his team two crucial points.
LM: Anthony Martial – 6/10
The French winger looked a threat on the ball but some of his decision-making was questionable as he failed to find the cutting edge on the night.
CAM: Juan Mata – 9/10
He scored two goals for the Red Devils which almost gave the Manchester club a victory. The Spanish playmaker was by far the best player on the pitch for Manchester United.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 7/10
The Belgian was unlucky not to score in the second half. However, his work-rate up top and his desire to run the channels was something that created openings for his team-mates to exploit. Unfortunately, they were unable to take their chances and kill off the contest which ultimately came back to haunt them.
Substitutes:
LM: Marcus Rashford – 5/10
He created an excellent chance for United to kill the game.
CM: Ander Herrera – 6/10
The Spanish midfielder provided some fresh legs at the centre of the park.
RM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 6/10
The Armenian won a free-kick but was not able to cook up a goal-scoring chance.
