Manchester United close gap on Arsenal and Liverpool with easy win at Leicester City
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ByEurosport
Updated 05/02/2017 at 18:29 GMT
Premier League, King Power Stadium - Leicester City 0 Manchester United 3 (Mkhitaryan 42, Ibrahimovic 44, Mata 49)
Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates
Image credit: Reuters
Three goals in less than ten minutes either side of half-time were enough for Manchester United to record an easy victory over Leicester City, and increase the pressure on Liverpool and Arsenal.
The opening stages of the first half were largely even, but United grew into the game when Henrikh Mkhitaryan was switched to the number 10 role.
It was Mhkitaryan, darting in behind the defence on the halfway line, who opened the scoring just before half time. Zlatan Ibrahimovic got his 15th Premier League goal of the season two minutes later.
In the second half, Juan Mata - lucky to still be on the pitch after a rough challenge on Jamie Vardy in the first half - sealed the victory with a smart third.
United stay in sixth, but whittled down the gap to fifth place behind Liverpool to a single point, and Leicester find themselves in a relegation battle proper.
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Manchester United's Juan Mata celebrates scoring their third goal
Image credit: Reuters
TALKING POINT - Should Mata have seen red?
He went in with a rough challenge on Vardy, with his studs showing but into his foot, not the shin. A yellow was probably the correct decision but it would have been hard to argue against a referee given the way things have gone this season.
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Manchester United's Juan Mata after fouling Leicester City's Jamie Vardy
Image credit: Reuters
MAN OF THE MATCH - Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Manchester United)
He scored an excellent opener as Robert Huth failed to track his run, and also set up Juan Mata with a clever reverse pass into the box. He has underperformed recently, so United will be glad to have him back - this time from the middle of the pitch - and on form. He is key to their challenge for the league.
PLAYER RATINGS
Leicester City: Schmeichel 6, Simpson 5, Morgan 5, Huth 5, Fuchs 5, Drinkwater 6, Ndidi 6, Musa 5, Okazaki 5, Vardy 5. Subs: King 5, Gray 6.
Manchester United: De Gea 6, Valencia 7, Bailly 7, Smalling 6, Marcos Rojo 6, Ander Herrera 6, Pogba 6, Mata 7, Mkhitaryan 8, Rashford 6, Ibrahimovic 7. Subs: Blind 6, Fellaini 6, Young 6.
KEY EVENTS
28' - MATA FOUL - Vardy is caught by a late challenge by Mata. It's a wild challenge, and he keeps his studs almost down. He is lucky to be on still.
42' - GOAL! Leicester City 0-1 Manchester United. Mkhitaryan scores - Another piece of brilliance. Smalling heads forward and takes out Huth on the halfway line. Mkhitaryan needs only a few touches to take everyone out of the game, and his shot strikes Schmeichel's knee and flies into the roof of the net. Unlucky timing from Luckhurst, below.
44' - GOAL! Leicester City 0-2 Manchester United. Ibrahimovic scores - United double their lead as Ibrahimovic gets his 20th of the season. Valencia powers down the right, pulls a ball back to Ibrahimovic, who whips in a low shot through Morgan's legs and past Schmeichel.
49' - GOAL! Leicester City 0-3 Manchester United. Mata scores - The man who could have been sent off makes it three. Mata takes up the ball on the right, he plays it back inside for Mkhitaryan, runs into the box as Morgan plays him on side, and clips the return pass over Schmeichel.
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Manchester United) and Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester)
Image credit: AFP
52' - SCHMEICHEL SAVE - Rashford is in behind on the left and he rifles a shot at the near post for Schmeichel to turn behind.
57' - MAHREZ FREE KICK - Mahrez curls his shot through the wall and strikes the side netting. It was really close to creeping in, and De Gea has a cob on.
KEY STATS
- Leicester City are the first Premier League team to fail to score in the first five matches of a calendar year and the first top-flight side since Spurs in 1986.
- Indeed, they are the only side in the top four English tiers to have failed to score in the league in 2017.
- Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League games; their longest run since March 2013 (18 games unbeaten).
- The Foxes are the second reigning Premier League champions to lose successive home league games by
- There were just 88 seconds between Henrikh Mkhitaryan's and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's goals for Man Utd.
- At 35 years and 125 days old, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the oldest player to reach 15 Premier League goals in a single season.
- Ibrahimovic has reached 15 Premier League goals for Man Utd in the fourth fastest number of games (23), following Van Nistelrooy (19) Yorke (20) and van Persie (21).
- Juan Mata has been involved in 86 Premier League goals since his debut (44 goals, 42 assists) – the highest goal involvement rate of any Premier League midfielder in that time.
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