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Manchester United played out a match full of uninteresting but hopeful display of attacking football on Saturday in their 1-0 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford in the Premier League. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men proved too strong for Brendan Rodgers' who, no matter how hard they probed, could not find a way through the Red Devils' defence.
Leicester had 58% of the possession and more accurate passes than United (373 to the home side's 258). They also won nine corners whereas United could muster only three, which shows that the Foxes did not lose the game for want of trying.
The only place where the Red Devils beat them in the numbers game is in the shots on target segment, where they had five as compared to Leicester's three.
Marcus Rashford needs to be lauded after weeks of criticism thrown towards him. He was the one who won the penalty off Leicester's centre-back Caglar Soyuncu, and later converted it too.
The striker was in top form against Leicester. He has come out of the international break looking fresh, rejuvenated and willing to give his best for his club.
Anthony Martial's injury prevented him from taking the field, but once the Frenchman recovers, his partnership with Rashford at the top of the attack is going to be one worth watching.
United were sometimes slow on the ball which showed when Leicester tried to rob them of it, but eventually they succeeded in getting it back. Central midfielder Scott McTominay, who has thrived after being bolstered with confidence under Solskjaer, was mighty impressive on Saturday, protecting the United back four almost single-handedly.
The young Scot was always rated highly and on Saturday he showed that he is now ready to take on the big names in the game.
Nemanja Matic, who made the starting XI thanks to an injury to Paul Pogba, was rather poor on the ball and impressed no one. His passing was sub-standard and his distribution of the ball was highly questionable.
It was, therefore, no surprise when he was taken off by Solskjaer in the 67th minute. The experienced Serb hasn't hit his straps so far this season.
United's defence has done the job this season and Harry Maguire's arrival from, ironically, Leicester, has added teeth to it. Victor Lindelof and new signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who took the field after pulling out of England's European Championship qualifiers due to injury, were up to the task on Saturday.
Solskjaer has led the team with aplomb lately and made the Red Devils look better than they actually are. At the moment Manchester United may be playing banal football, but they are getting the job done - as their spot in the fourth place of the Premier League table shows.
