Leicester City were denied the chance to be crowned Premier League champions at Old Trafford when Manchester United held them to a 1-1 draw on Sunday. Anthony Martial opened the scoring before Wes Morgan equalised for the Foxes in the first half. The table toppers also saw a man sent off when Danny Drinkwater received a second booking late in the second half.
Squads
Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Carrick, Fellaini, Lingard, Rooney, Martial, Rashford
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs, Mahrez, Kanté, Drinkwater, Schlupp, Okazaki, Ulloa
With Jamie Vardy’s suspension extended by one game, the striker was unavailable for the visit to Old Trafford. Claudio Ranieri opted to start Leonardo Ulloa and Shinji Okazaki up front. PFA Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez started on the right with Jeffrey Schlupp on the left.
Louis van Gaal started Wayne Rooney in midfield again with Marcus Rashford leading the line and Anthony Martial on the left. Antonio Valencia started as right back with Marcos Rojo on the left of defence while Blind and Smalling started as the centre-backs.
United open the scoring before Leicester strike back
Manchester United who kicked things off and they were on the attack right from the first minute. With stalwarts such as Eric Cantona in attendance, the Red Devils took the lead in the eighth minute of the game.
Valencia had the ball out on the right side and after beating his marker with a cut in, he floated in a cross into the box with the outside of his boot. The cross was directed towards the far post where Anthony Martial, completely unmarked, took his shot first time and side-footed it past Kasper Schmeichel to give the home side the lead.
United almost doubled their lead soon after when Jesse Lingard had a shot on goal. The 23-year-old’s shot was superbly saved by Schmeichel who went down low to prevent the Red Devils from going 2-0 up.
Marouane Fellaini was guilty of elbowing Robert Huth twice in the face during a set-piece but the referee missed the off-the-ball action. The frustrated Belgian floored the defender with his second elbow and it remains to be seen if Fellaini will be retrospectively banned after Tottenham Hotspurs’ Dele Alli was banned for a similar violent act.
However, Leicester struck back just nine minutes later through a set-piece. A free-kick out on the left saw Danny Drinkwater send the ball into the box where Wes Morgan lost his marker to head it home past David De Gea who could only watch it cross the line as the away fans celebrated deliriously.
At the half hour mark, United felt they had a chance when Lingard was through on goal and seemed to have been brought down by Danny Simpson in a tussle for the ball. Schmeichel rushed out of his box to clear as Lingard fell over but referee Michael Oliver refused to whistle for a foul, let alone produce a card. Replays showed Oliver was right to allow the Foxes to play on as Lingard simply fell over with no minimal contact from Simpson.
The Foxes kept knocking at the door towards the end of the first half. Mahrez was brought down in the box although the referee refused to award a penalty. Although there was contact, the Algerian winger went to ground too easily. Morgan had another chance off a corner kick but, this time, his header was well off target.
Half-Time: Manchester United 0-0 Leicester City
Frustrating half sees United feeding on scraps
Leicester started the second half strongly and had a chance within the first five minutes. Simpson managed to intercept the ball in midfield and made a run towards United’s box. His cross deflected off michael Carrick and went inches wide of the far post for a corner kick.
United were clearly struggling to create chances in the second half and were frustrated time anda gain by the Leicester defence. That frustration seemed to boil over when United were chasing the ball as Lingard, Carrick and Rooney went into the book for challenges on the Foxes.
Lingard soon made way for Juan Mata who was making his 100th appearance for United. Ander Herrera also came on for Fellaini whose last contribution was a nhandball when he had the chance to chest down a cross and take a shot on goal.
The substitutions seemed to make an impact as United had more of the ball with Leicester reduced to counter-attacks if they won the ball back. A couple of chances went abegging for United with Smalling heading a Rooney cross into the outside of the post having beaten Schmeichel.
United were handed a lifeline in the 87th minute when Danny Drinkwater was sent off for a second yellow when he pulled substitute Memphis Depay back on the edge of the box. Calls for a penalty went unanswered as Oliver awarded a free-kick at the edge of the box. Rooney stepped up but his delivery on goal was punched away to safety by Schmeichel.
Schmeichel was called into action again in the four minutes of added time when he had to rush out of his box to clear a ball at the edge of the box, first denying Memphis and then punting it away to clear the danger before Rooney pounced on the opportunity.
