Rooney out, Mata in. Three points on the board for Mourinho’s men.
Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Keen to banish the demons of last week, Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United side answered a number of their critics with a comprehensive 4-1 victory of reigning Premier League champions, Leicester City.
Whilst Leicester City started the better of the two teams, Manchester United took control after a Chris Smalling header put them in front in the 22nd minute. Leicester City’s concentration will be questioned as they continued to leak goals from corners, and at 3-0, had all but given up, with the game wrapped up by half-time.
Jose Mourinho – 9
I don’t often rate managers, but Jose Mourinho finally made one of the big decisions he was brought in to make. Wayne Rooney has been a fantastic servant for Manchester United, but in recent years, their attacking play has been all too reliant on the England captain. Rooney often plays well, but seemingly inhibits the players around him. With Rooney sitting out of proceedings, Paul Pogba was afforded the space in the middle of the park to dominate, and claimed the Man-of-the-Match afford in the captains absence.
David De Gea – 6
David De Gea had a fairly comfortable afternoon in between the sticks with the majority of play flowing in the opposite direction. The Manchester United stopper had absolutely no chance of stopping Demarai Gray’s stunning effort, but did make an impressive save moments later as the young winger attempted to replicate his earlier strike.`
Antonio Valencia – 6
Antonio Valencia got forward well and always offered the overlap for Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard. He would of been hoping for a little more support from the two defensively, and was caught napping by Marc Albrighton on a couple of occasions in the first-half.
Eric Bailly – 6
Another solid performance from the youngster at the back. He still looks like he has a mistake in him, with little lapses in concentration and his positioning sometime lacking, but all in all Mourinho will have been happy with centre-backs contribution.
Chris Smalling – 7
Looked assertive alongside Bailly, and grabbed the vital goal with a fantastic header. The goal changed the game, knocking the wind out of the Leicester attack. Smalling still defended admirably, and performed his defensive duties with aplomb.
Manchester United’s Chris Smalling celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates
Daley Blind – 8
A very impressive performance from the Dutchman as he filled in for the injured Luke Shaw at left-back. Blind was involved in three of the four goals, with his corners proving to be Leicester’s downfall. Blind put in a succession of dangerous crosses and was solid at the back, especially when dealing with lively substitute, Demarai Gray. His quick thinking to slot Juan Mata in with a short corner for the third goal was a particular highlight.
Ander Herrera – 8
The Spanish midfielder brought out the best in midfield partner Paul Pogba, allowing the world record signing to dominate proceedings. Herrera used possession smartly, and kept the ball moving, adding the tempo that has been lacking in Manchester United’s passing of late. Along with Pogba, the pair dominated the midfield battle.
Paul Pogba – 9
Man-of-the-Match performance from the world record signing, Pogba looked lively throughout, battling for possession and playing a series of fantastic, forward-looking passes that consistently dissected the Leicester City back line. Pogba rounded off his performance with his first Manchester United goal, heading home from yet another Daley Blind corner.
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba scores their fourth goal
Jesse Lingard – 6 (Sub: Michael Carrick, 78′)
Still yet to prove he’s worthy of a starting-berth in my eyes. Lingard does provide pace on the counter-attack, but often loses the ball and doesn’t track back properly. Demarai Gray ghosted past him for Leicester’s goal, and Valencia was left at sea a number of times by the youngster. However, Lingard did provide a fantastic touch to assist Juan Mata’s goal, and showed glimpses of ability, but is still being overshadowed by the man on the otehr side of the pitch, Marcus Rashford.
Juan Mata – 8 (Sub: Ashley Young, 87′)
`Scored a fantastic goal to kill off the game at 2-0, Leicester already looked shell-shocked from Smalling’s opener when Mata struck firmly into the corner. Mata was full of invention and again showed his quick thinking as he darted away from his marker to find plenty of space in the box from Blind’s corner, buoyed with confidence from his earlier goal, Mata coolly supplied Rashford with a simple tap-in.
Marcus Rashford -7 (Sub: Wayne Rooney, 83′)
His pace causes serious problems for the opposition, and his willingness to run in behind creates the space for his team mates. Not his best performance in a United shirt by any stretch, but another solid performance that was capped with a goal.
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford scores their third goal
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 7
The only thing lacking from the Swede’s performance was a goal, Ibrahimovic held the ball up well, and consistently brought his team-mates in to play. He occupied Robert Huth and Wes Morgan throughout, and made a number of clever runs to create space and stretch the Leicester City defence.
Substitutions:
Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young – N/A
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