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Manchester United 1-0 Leicester: Three talking points as Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and Mctominay impress

Manchester United 1-0 Leicester: Three talking points as Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Scott Mctominay impress.

Marcus Rashford scored Manchester Uniteds decider

Bengaluru, September 15: Manchester United finally get their desired three points against Leicester City thanks to the solitary goal scored by Marcus Rashford via a first-half penalty in a game of few chances.

England striker Rashford was brought down by Leicester defender Caglar Soyoncu in the box and the forward casually converted the resultant penalty back in the net sending Kasper Schmeichel the wrong way.

Rashford again came closest to adding another after the break when his free-kick struck the woodwork but that's it. The game was not attractive in sense of gameplay and the Red Devils were just trying to keep Leicester City away from the goal.

Meanwhile, Leicester's only decent chance came from the feet of Maddison which was denied by De Gea and later a long-range regular save from the Spaniard was the only threat which the home team faced.

Here are three major talking points from the game:

1) Wan Bissaka and Maguire are solid

United's two major signings in the summerhave been an instant as the pair again displayed a strong defensive performance against an exciting side. A typical no-nonsense display from Bissaka who was never challenged by Maddison and later Barnes out wide from an often tricky Leicester attack. His attacking input was not much tested, but he did well in the defensive half. Maguire too made his first appearance against Leicester since leaving the Foxes for Manchester United in an £80million deal in the summer. He was tasked with keeping former teammate Jamie Vardy quiet, and surely he did fine. He was beaten by the veteran striker on one occasion but dominated in the air and was barely challenged.

2) Mctonimay is solid but Pogba is missed

With Pogba missing the game, Solskjaer put the academy youngster in a more advanced position in the box to box role, and played Matic as the defensive midfielder. He was the showstopper from midfield. The Scot never let the Leicester midfield settle. Drove his team forward and dictated the tempo while the youngster demonstrated excellent defensive responsibilities against an inform Maddison. But still, the lack of creativity due to the absence of Pogba was very much experienced. The French international so far has offered considerably more creativity in possession and on the break while playing in the deep and without him, the team lacks creativity in the midfield.

3) Soyuncu’s only mistake cost the game

After the departure of Maguire, Rodgers kept faith in his own defensive unit and last year's arrival Caglar Soyuncu has been given the England defender's role. The Turkish defender is yet to replicate the charisma of Maguire in the backline but has been decent enough so far. But his sole mistake turned to be fatal for his side in this fixture, as what it looked like an unnecessary contact, giving Manchester United the only big chance in the game.

Story first published: Sunday, September 15, 2019, 15:33 [IST]
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