Manchester United continued their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory over Leicester City at Old Trafford.
José Mourinho made one change to the side that beat Swansea City last week, with the in-form Anthony Martial coming in for Marcus Rashford. And the Reds picked up where they left off, piling the pressure on the Foxes throughout the first half without finding the breakthrough.
The second half saw more of the same, with United missing a gilt-edged chance from the penalty spot. Danny Simpson handballed inside the area, but Kasper Schmeichel denied Romelu Lukaku, diving to his right and palming the Belgian’s effort away from goal.
Just as it seemed like it wouldn’t be United’s day, two substitutes popped up to send the fans home happy. Rashford guided the ball home from Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s corner with 20 minutes remaining, before Marouane Fellaini sealed all three points with eight minutes left, guiding the ball home from Jesse Lingard’s driven cross, although the Belgian was marginally offside.
The win takes United back to the top of the Premier League table ahead of the international break and they now sit two points clear of promoted Huddersfield Town.
Here are the player ratings from Old Trafford…
David de Gea - 7
Didn’t have much to do as Leicester barely threatened the United goal. Made a brilliant late save to deny Andy King at the end.
Antonio Valencia - 6
Defensively solid but United needed more from him in an attacking sense today. His final delivery into the box was poor and often hit the first man.
Eric Bailly - 8
The best centre-back in the Premier League on current form. Bossed Jamie Vardy all over the place and didn’t allow him an inch of space.
Phil Jones - 8
The perfect foil to Bailly’s aggressiveness. Covered well when Bailly went in for the challenges and even found time for a few enterprising runs forward.
Daley Blind - 6
Like Valencia on the opposite flank, his final delivery into the box was poor. Also caught out of position at times as Riyad Mahrez exploited his lack of pace on the left. United surely need another option at left-back.
Nemanja Matic - 7
Kept things ticking over in midfield, allowing Paul Pogba to influence the game further forward. A nondescript performance.
Paul Pogba - 7
Did well in the first half, driving United forward and some of his speculative shots could have found the back of the net with a little bit more luck. Faded slightly in the second as United’s tempo dropped somewhat.
Juan Mata - 7
Decent first half, where his movement between the lines caused the Leicester backline problems. Had a goal chalked off for offside, which was borderline. Faded in the second.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 7
Provided glimpses of what he could do, but didn’t really play the killer ball that United required to penetrate the Leicester backline in the second half. A wonderful corner delivery for the Reds’ opener.
Anthony Martial - 7
Justified his start today with some productive wing play. Stretched the Leicester backline wide with his unpredictable movement and dovetailed well with United’s front three.
Romelu Lukaku - 7
Showed great resilience against Leicester’s centre-back duo of Wes Morgan and Harry Maguire, using his strength to hold up the ball and bring others into play. A goal would have rounded off his performance, but his penalty was telegraphed by Kasper Schmeichel.
Substitutes
Marcus Rashford (8) – Just like Martial in the first two games of the season, Rashford came off the bench to devastating effect. His goal was well taken, instinctively guiding the ball home, before playing a key part in the second, playing a lovely ball through to Jesse Lingard in space.
Marouane Fellaini (7) – Gave United more balance in midfield after coming on and killed the game off, being in the right place at the right time to guide home Jesse Lingard’s drilled cross off his thigh.
Jesse Lingard (7) – His extra burst of energy and unpredictable movement between the lines gave Leicester’s backline more problems to deal with, and was rewarded with a fine assist for United’s second.