Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United
Harry Maguire netted a 94th-minute equaliser as Leicester City snatched a point against Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday night.
Juan Mata’s double had seen United lead after Jamie Vardy opened the scoring in the 27th minute, but Maguire scored with virtually the final kick of the match to level the scores in incredible fashion.
The 2-2 draw has left second-placed United 13 points behind Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, while Leicester stay down in eighth.
Below are four talking points from the Premier League clash.
United dominate but fail to win at the King Power Stadium
United had enough chances to win four or five football matches. The away team conceded first when Vardy slotted home from inside the box, but Jose Mourinho’s side impressively turned the match around.
Mata scored his second and third Premier League goals of the campaign at the King Power Stadium on Saturday night. The 29-year-old has not always been in the team this season, but there is little doubting what he brings to United, especially in that number 10 position, where he can really influence the match.
The former Chelsea attacker registered assists against Bournemouth and West Bromwich Albion, before helping himself to two goals against Leicester. Romelu Lukaku ran him close in terms of United’s star player, and the Spaniard’s two goals should have been enough to secure all three points.
Mata’s first goal was a clever pass into the bottom corner, before netting a real Christmas cracker of a free kick just past the hour.
Jesse Lingard hit a post for United at 2-1, while Marcus Rashford also passed up a huge chance as the visitors failed to put the match to bed. It cost them in the end as Chris Smalling bizarrely stayed at centre-back while injured, and Maguire’s late goal will not have helped Mourinho’s mood.
Lukaku has arguably his best game in a United shirt
Lukaku has been criticised for his hold-up work this season, but the Belgian had a super game against Leicester. Alongside Mata, he was the away side’s best player on the night, and deserved to be on the winning team.
The Belgian did not actually have many chances of his own, but could have ended the game with three or four assists. A return of 10 Premier League goals in 19 matches is far from disastrous, and he will surely hit double figures for the Red Devils by the time that the season finishes.
The 24-year-old’s movement and touch was much better against Leicester, and it was the wastefulness of his teammates that cost the forward the chance to be on the winning team on arguably his best overall game for the 20-time English champions.
Vardy scores 50th Premier League goal
It has been quite a few years for Vardy. A non-league player as recently as 2012, the centre-forward helped fire Leicester to the 2015-16 Premier League title, and has developed into a key player for the English national team.
Vardy entered Saturday’s match on 49 Premier League goals, but that became 50 in the 27th minute when he slotted home after excellent work from Riyad Mahrez. United’s defenders were absent without leave, and that allowed Vardy the chance to do what he has been doing since his days at Stocksbridge Park Steels.
The 30-year-old was not always involved in the match due to United’s domination of the ball for long spells, but he was always dangerous. It is worth noting that 21 of Vardy’s 50 Premier League goals have come against the so-called big six in English football.
Leicester’s form at the King Power Stadium will be concerning Puel
Considering that Leicester’s main strength is their ability to counter-attack at pace, it is not too much of a surprise that the Foxes have been better on the road this season. Indeed, they have actually only lost two of their nine away league games this term, which is very impressive for a team outside of the top four.
They have only won four of their 10 home Premier League matches, however, and really should have lost on Saturday night.
Leicester had to ride their luck in the early stages of the match before Vardy sent them ahead in the 27th minute, but it is difficult to argue that United did not deserve to level in the 40th minute due to the away side’s pressure.
Christian Fuchs had a decent chance before United scored their second, but there was a lack of intensity about Leicester’s work in the second period, with Mahrez struggling to influence proceedings in the final third.
Daniel Amartey’s red card in the 73rd minute made things very complicated for Leicester in terms of a comeback, and United should have scored at least twice more in the period that followed.
The Foxes deserve credit for eventually equalising in the latter stages, but there is a general feeling that they got away with one in this match. If Claude Puel is to lead this team to a top-seven finish, they simply have to be better at the King Power Stadium.
