Manchester United hosted Leicester City at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag keen on closing the gap between the Red Devils and second-placed Manchester City.
The United boss rested a few players, with the Barcelona game on Thursday in mind.
Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof formed the centre-back pairing with Diogo Dalot restored to the side ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Luke Shaw was named on the back of the left flank.
In Casemiro’s absence, Marcel Sabitzer, Fred and Wout Weghorst formed the midfield trio.
Marcus Rashford led the line with Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes on either side of him.
Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s 3-0 win against Leicester City.
Wout Weghorst extremely poor in the first-half
Weghorst started in the playmaker role for the second game in a row after he also did so at the Camp Nou.
The Dutchman was poor and had a below-par showing in the opening 45 minutes of the game.
Weghorst seemed bereft of ideas and constantly found himself all over the place. The United man misplaced a number of passes. Out of the 23 passes he attempted, five were erroneous.
Weghorst, in his playmaking and creative make-shift position, failed to register any single key pass. United’s creative responsibilities once again fell to Fernandes on the right wing.
The 30-year-old Netherlands international lost 50% of his duels in the air. He also lost possession an astronomic eight times in the first half and was dribbled past on one occasion.
The 6 ft 6 striker seemed to be out of sync with the rest of United’s attackers like Rashford and Fernandes, who seemed on it.
To be fair to Weghorst, he was superb defensively. He made four tackles in the first period – 4. This was more than any other player on the pitch.
However, many will argue that his primary responsibility was to contribute going forward rather than help shore up the back.
Luckily, United went into the break a goal up thanks to Rashford who got on the end of a sublime assist from Fernandes to fire it beyond Danny Ward.
First-half stats obtained from Sofascore
Alejandro Garnacho still not ready for a starting berth
Like Weghorst, Garnacho was also not especially impactful during the 45 minutes he was engaged in action against the Foxes.
The Argentine saw the ball picked from him by the opposition a few times and attacking ventures break down with him.
Given the nod to start ahead of Jadon Sancho, Garnacho failed to justify Ten Hag’s decision to include him in the starting XI.
He simply did not have the influence shown by the likes of Rashford and Fernandes.
It was no surprise that Ten Hag took him off at halftime and brought on Sancho. Sancho was more lethal and even got on the score sheet when he grabbed the Red Devils’ third of the game.
Garnacho’s showing against Leeds proved what some across the fanbase already knew – that Garnacho is still not ready to be a regular starter under Ten Hag.
The 18-year-old’s development will be far better served by coming from the bench and making a difference when required.
At the moment, starting games is a level above Garnacho and he must not be above Sancho in the pecking order.
Rashford currently the most in-form player in the world
There has been much debate about where Rashford currently stands with the best in world football.
Going by the evidence of his performance against Brendan Rodgers’ men, there are a few if any who can claim to be on top of the United number 10.
Rashford extended his red-hot form by scoring twice against Leicester.
When United were struggling early in the game, it was his goal that put the Reds into the lead and gave them a foothold in the game.
His second put the side into a comfortable position before Sancho’s third sealed all three points.
It reflects well on Rashford that whatever the calibre of opposition, competition or position he plays in, he’s coming up with the goods and being a decisive force in the outcome of games – a valuable trait for the best in the business at the moment.
Player ratings: Man United 3-0 Leicester City
Manchester United beat Leicester City 3-0 in the Premier League today. Here are our ratings.
(A score of 6 is around average)
David de Gea 7.5 – Made a couple of wonderful saves to deny Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho in the first half. Playing for a contract is Big Dave.
Diego Dalot 6.5 – Missed an absolute sitter in the first half. Ventured forward to good effect otherwise.
Victor Lindelof 6 – Shaky first half-hour for the Swedish captain recovered and had a solid outing.
Lisandro Martinez 7.5 – So, so, good. The Argentinian is the signing of the season.
Luke Shaw 7 – Mr. Consistent. Another stellar performance from the English full-back.
Marcel Sabitzer 7 – Excellent all-round display from the Austrian.
Fred 6.5 – Won the ball multiple times in midfield. Set up the equaliser for Rashford. Taken off at the hour mark for Scott McTominay.
Alejandro Garnacho 5 – Showed only glimpses of his attacking prowess. Withdrawn for Jadon Sancho at half-time.
Bruno Fernandes 9.5 – Responsible for most of United’s attacking threat in the first-half. Found Rashford with a lovely dinked ball using the outside of the right foot for the opener. Set Dalot up for a tap-in at the far-post with a superb cross, but his compatriot fluffed his lines. Grabbed another assist in the second-half. The Captain continues to set the tone.
Marcus Rashford 8.5 – Led the line superbly in the first-half. Moved to LW after half-time and was just as good, if not better. An excellent brace against a resurgent Foxes. The man is nigh unplayable right now.
Wout Weghorst 5.5 – Deployed in an unfamiliar no. 10 role once again in the first 45 minutes. His work rate was admirable, with the big Dutchman winning more tackles than any other player on the pitch in the first-half(4), but he has to get his head up and make more forward passes if this experiment is to continue against the Blaugrana later this week. Moved to no. 9 after the break, but is yet to score his first league goal.
Substitutes:
Jadon Sancho 7.5 – Came on at the break. Scored United’s third after a tidy one-two with Bruno Fernandes in the opposition box. His direct running caused the Foxes all kinds of problems. Jadon Sancho is well and truly back, folks.
Scott McTominay 6 – Solid on his comeback.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 6.5 – Played a great cross for Weghorst. Some nice tricks and flicks along the touchline with Sancho was a crowd pleaser.
Anthony Elanga 5.5 – Made some decent runs.
Kobbie Mainoo 6 – Looked good on his PL debut at the tender age of just 17.
Source: thepeoplesperson.com
