Manchester United made it three wins in a row as they defeated Leicester City 1-0 at the King Power Stadium.
A first half strike from Jadon Sancho handed United all three points and moved themselves up to fifth in the Premier League table.
First Half
Erik Ten Hag opted for an unchanged side and it was to be the same side that had won the previous two matches against Liverpool and Southampton. Some were surprised not to see summer signing Casemiro start but after the game Ten Hag confirmed that the Brazilian is yet to ‘get up to speed’.
The first threatening attack came from the visitors and in the tenth minute, Christian Eriksen nearly netted his first goal for the club. Sancho laid the ball towards the edge of the penalty area and the Dane latched onto the pass but his shot just whistled past the near post.
The hosts created their first meaningful opening halfway through the first period when James Maddison laid the ball to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from a dead ball situation but the 23-year-old’s effort was comfortably held by David De Gea.
The visitors found the breakthrough in the 23rd minute when Diogo Dalot found his international compatriote in Bruno Fernandes who found Marcus Rashford in space who slipped Sancho through on goal – with the 22-year-old showing elite composure as he rounded the goalkeeper and tapped the ball into an empty net.
The Foxes created their best chance of the half just before the break and it was Harvey Barnes who saw his long range effort whistle past the post – leaving De Gea rooted and the Spaniard was relieved to see the ball go wide.
Ten Hag and his side dominated the first half and were well worth their half time lead. Sancho’s goal was enough to separate the two sides in a half that belonged to United.
Second Half
The beginning of the second half began how the first ended, with United dominating the early exchanges but could not manage to find the second goal.
Summer signing Casemiro made his second substitute appearance as he replaced Anthony Elanga which resulted in a change of shape. Fernandes moved wide and Eriksen pushed into the central attacking position.
Maddison had the hosts best effort of the half as his free-kick looked destined for the top corner but De Gea was equal to it and pushed the effort away from danger. Cristiano Ronaldo then replaced Sancho with the Portuguese having a positive impact on proceedings and nearly scored a stunning goal but his effort spun wide.
The game then petered out as United defended doggedly and stopped the hosts from having any clear cut opportunities. United saw the game out and won by a single goal to nil as they made it three wins on the spin and moved themselves up to fifth in the league table.
The Red Devils face a mouthwatering clash with Arsenal at Old Trafford this Sunday as United will be vying to end the Gunners’ 100% start to the season.
