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Rooney Out And Pogba Scores His First For Man Utd As Red Devils Humiliate Leicester 4-1

By Anirban Das

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pogba-lingardMourinho proved his critics wrong as Manchester United brought an end to their 3-game losing streak on Saturday.

Goals from Smalling, Mata, Rashford and Pogba helped Manchester United to humiliate reigning Premier League champions 4-0 on Saturday at Old Trafford.

leicesterLeicester City started on a positive note and looked to threaten down the flanks but as the game progressed, the Foxes failed to hold on to the momentum and looked all over the place at the back. Defensive blunders by Simpson, Huth and Fuchs helped United to clinch three of their four early goals.

On the contrary Manchester United started a bit slow and looked to dominate possession initially. They gradually stepped up the gas and the United frontline looked in brilliant form as they used their pace and skills perfectly to threaten the Leicester back-line at regular intervals.

Mourinho had to tweak his first-team and as expected he dropped Man Utd captain Wayne Rooney for Saturday’s high-octane clash against Leicester City. Martial missed Saturday’s clash after a nasty head clash with Watford’s Daryl Janmaat last week.

The Special One opted to start with Valencia, Smalling, Bailly and Blind at the back with Herrerra, Mata and Pogba in the middle. Ibrahimovic, Rashford and Lingard anchored the United attack and proved their mettle after a week of harsh criticisms.

man-utd-zlatanManchester United pushed more men forward and worked the ball all over the pitch. Lingard and Rashford repeatedly threatened through the flanks with Pogba and Mata dominated the game in the middle.

man-utd-smallingChris Smalling opened the scoring for United in the 22nd minute from a corner. Blind whipped in a lofted cross from the left to pick Smalling, who beat Huth in the air and launched a downward header past Zelier into the back of the net.

smallingIbrahimovic had the cance to double the lead in the 28th minute but his venomous volley went way over the crossbar. Pogba whipped in a perfect lob pass over the head of Huth to pick Zlatan, who chested the ball down and launched a powerful volley that went a yard over the crossbar.

Man Utd basked in confidence after the early goal and Juan Mata doubled the lead in the 37th minute. The Pogba, Mata and Lingard combination worked for the Red Devils and the result was – a beautiful team goal from an incredible build-up play.

mataMata rushed in forward from the right before picking Pogba, who whipped in a perfect pass to find Lingard. The talented number 14 flicked the ball into the path of Mata, who made no mistake and fired the ball beyond Zieler and into the back of the net.

rashford-goalAttack-Attack and Attack was the order of the day for United and Old Trafford witnessed a much needed attacking finesse as Rasford clinched the third goal for Man United in the 40th minute. Blind whipped in a low corner to pick Mata, who flicked the ball to find Rashord inside the six-yard-box. The talented United prodigy made no mistake and thumped the ball into the back of the net from a brilliant sliding effort.

Minutes later Man Utd’s world record signing proved his critics wrong and gifted united their fourth goal in the match and. Blind whipped ina corner from the left to find an unmarked Pogba, who deceived Huth before sweeping in a header into the right corner and clinched his first goal for United.

pogbaManchester United maintained their domination in the second half but they cut the pace down a bit as they enjoyed the maximum possession. Leicester City looked desperate to reduce the deficit quickly as nothing seemed to work on their favour.

At the hour mark, United struggled a bit in the middle and Leicester City pounced back to take full opportunity of the situation. Man United lost possession in the middle of the pitch, which allowed Leicester to push forward on a lethal counter-attack. Beating all odds, Demarai Gray pulled one back for Leicester in the 59th minute.

Gray picked up the ball on the left wing and rushed past Lingard before launching a venomous strike into the top right corner of the net to beat De Gea, whose acrobatic effort couldn’t stop the ball from going in.

grayUnited had a couple of chances to increase but they fumbled on the final ball. Leicester City were keen on cutting down the deficit but they lacked the much needed finishing. Schlupp rushed past Herrera from the left before picking King just inside the penalty area, but his weak effort was straight into the hands of De Gea.

Gray almost scored his second in the game for Leicester in the 78th minute but he failed to beat De Gea this time around. Gray launched a curler from 25 yards out into the top corner but De Gea managed to tip it round the far post with a wonderful one-handed diving save.

Man Utd defenders were brilliant at the back and managed to hold on to their lead until the final whistle as the Red Devils clinched all the three valuable points from Saturday’s high-octane clash.

Mourinho’s army will now face Stoke City, next in Premier League on 2nd October, Sunday.

Anirban Das
Anirban Das's journey to Delhi via Kolkata involves football, music, curiosity (which one day can kill the cat) and food. Following global football opens up an infinite space within him in both the conscious and subconscious self, away from the din and bustle of the madding crowd. Supports Manchester United & Barcelona

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