Manchester United travelled to Leicester, England today to play Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. United were looking to win three matches in a row for the first time since December 2021, while Leicester and manager Brendan Rodgers were merely looking for their first three points of the season. This fixture has been tricky for the Red Devils in recent years, as has been playing on the road in general.
But no real worries today! It needs to be noted that Leicester are rather poor, as they basically did not show up in attack for the entirety of the first half. I don’t recall United keeper David De Gea needing to make a save, and United controlled the game very easily. But if the other team looks poor, it’s usually because your team is doing something right. I was highly impressed with the tactical shape of the team in the first half and indeed for most of the match. Credit to manager Erik ten Hag for employing such tactics, as the Foxes had nowhere to go with the ball.
The one and only goal in this match came in the 23rd minute via winger Jadon Sancho, and it was about a simple a goal as you will ever see in the Prem. A long clearance was recovered by right back Diogo Dalot, who then played the ball up the right wing to Bruno Fernandes. Bruno spotted Marcus Rashford making a run in behind the Leicester defenders, so he played a weighted pass to him. Rashford’s run into the box pulled away the marker from Sancho, and Rashford then tapped it over to Sancho also on a run alongside him. Sancho took a touch to take it around Leicester keeper Danny Ward, and slotted the ball home calmly into an open net. A fantastic team goal that really showed what United can do when they’re switched on. Only about 20 seconds elapsed between Dalot winning the ball and Sancho putting it in the net! Lightning.
Aside from a 10 minute spell in the opening of the 2nd half, Leicester never really got on the ball nor did they make things nervous for United. Midfielder James Maddison’s free kick on 50 minutes was probably their best chance of the whole match, but it was parried away by De Gea. United’s tactical shape was again excellent, and it got even stronger with the additions of Casemiro and Cristiano Ronaldo. Their experience helped provide some stability to the team and helped United get over the line. A professional victory from a team that needs to show some professionalism.
United are now up to 9 points in the Prem, and they sit 5th in the table with every club now having played five matches. Considering where we were after the first two matches, it seems that ETH has tidied things up and righted the ship. The defense has been spectacular the past three matches in particular. I very much like the center back pairing of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane. They communicate well, compliment each other well, and have allowed 1 goal in the past 180+ minutes of football. Let’s keep that going for as long as possible. Bruno was Man of the Match today, though. He was always exactly in the right place that he needed to be in whether on the ball or off the ball, and had a key pass in the buildup to Sancho’s goal. I certainly hope he maintains this form going forward.
A much sterner test awaits at Old Trafford on Sunday when Arsenal come to visit. They are the only team this season to win all five of their opening matches, and will assuredly provide a real test for the tactical nous of ETH and the concentration of the players. It feels as if United are building momentum though, so as long as it’s a respectable performance I’ll be happy.
Glory Glory Man United!
***
The summer transfer window closes in about 20 minutes from the time of writing this post, and United were very busy indeed. They have brought in:
RB Tyrell Malacia (Feyenoord)
CB Lisandro Martinez (Ajax)
CM Christian Eriksen (free agent)
CM Casemiro (Real Madrid)
RW Antony (Ajax)
GK Martin Dubravka (loan from Newcastle)
I like all these signings as we have FINALLY addressed the lack of a defensive midfielder by bringing in Casemiro. Malacia and Martinez have already shown what they can do, and if the rest of the signings do as well as those two, it will have been a successful transfer window. I still don’t like our overall transfer strategy though, as it appears we do not have one. Why did it take so long to get a guy like Casemiro? How come all this business wasn’t handled before the start of the season? Why has it taken until now for Director of Football John Murtough to put together a competent transfer window? Why was promising youth midfielder James Garner allowed to leave? Even if all these signings come good and United have a great year, any success won’t be sustainable without a clear and coherent long-term strategy. We had to pay through the nose to get Antony and Casemiro, and I’m hoping that we haven’t burdened ourselves with more massive contracts for players who don’t pan out. We did a good job of unloading some bloated contracts for underperforming players over the summer (Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira) but I’ll be livid if it turns out we’ve gone and made the same mistakes again.
Even though United won today and things appear to be improving, it’s still Glazer’s Out!
4-4-2 