Manchester United secured their second win of the 2019-20 season when they narrowly defeated Leicester City 1-0 at home.
Brendan Rodgers’ side dominated possession, but could not break through United’s stubborn defence as the Red Devils secured their first clean sheet of the season.
The win took Manchester United to the top 4 of the league (they could drop down if West Ham win against Aston Villa), and two points behind Manchester City in second.
Let’s take a look at 3 things we learnt from Manchester United’s win against Leicester:
Manchester United 1-0 Leicester City: Talking Points
Defence finally shows what they’re capable of
Leicester City had 59% possession at Old Trafford and had control in the midfield, but could not get behind the United defence. The Foxes’ tactic of playing the ball in behind the United defence to striker Jamie Vardy was thwarted by Harry Maguire and co. as they sat deep and did not allow the English striker space to use his pace.
Maguire won everything that was there in the air (4 aerial duels won), while Victor Lindelof cleared any dangerous balls (8 clearances).
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has had a great start to life at Manchester United, continued his good form with a solid performance, while captain Ashley Young – who played at left-back – also had a good game as he contributed defensively and offensively. David de Gea, who has been off-colour lately, also performed well against the Foxes.
Scott McTominay has the potential to be a midfield general
Scott McTominay was one of the standout players for United against Foxes. The Red Devils academy graduate was all over the pitch, making tackles, disrupting play, and moving forward with the ball.
The 22-year-old was given the task of keeping a close eye on Leicester’s James Maddison and McTominay was up to the task, shutting the young English attacking midfielder down whenever he had the space to move forward.
The Scottish international made 6 dribbles in the game – the most by any United player in the game, while making 3 clearances and winning 3 balls in the air.
In the absence of Paul Pogba, McTominay stepped up and showed what he can truly become – a midfield general that can dominate the game and lead the team in the centre of the park.
Solskjaer to play it safe
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set up his team to not get beat against Leicester City, playing deep and trying to hit Leicester on the counter-attack.
This was a surprising tactic, considering United were playing at home and how the United manager promised attacking football.
It remains to be seen if the Norwegian continues this tactic or if he resorted to it due to the numerous injuries to key players which caused them to miss the Leicester game.