The Mancunian giants had followed to dominate the game before Juan Mata scored his two second goal (37th minute) of the campaign via a delightful pass from Jesse Lingard who was played on by none other than Pogba.
Advertisement
Mata feels Manchester United finally showed the quality they possess, and believes when his side are in a mood to play they are hard team to stop.
The Twittersphere had been alert to the fact that captain Wayne Rooney had been left out of the starting line up, with many celebrating the news as a fresh chance for a team which has often appeared tetchy and lacklustre of late.
Rooney was demoted to the bench by United manager Jose Mourinho, who said Friday that the striker had not been the same player since he was criticized for his display for England against Slovakia in early September. The Frenchman then played a key part in Mata’s second before he headed his first goal for the club.
Leicester started the match on the front foot and bossed the first 15 minutes of the game, nearly scoring off a corner.
Any concerns over a repeat of the turgid performance away to Watford were soon dispelled, as United’s pace and power pinned Leicester back before Smalling’s header gave them a deserved lead.
Mata set up the third, receiving a quickly-taken corner by Blind next to the byline and crossing low for Rashford to tap in.
The third came when Leicester went to sleep again for a Blind corner and Rashford had an open net to score in.
After Zlatan Ibrahimovic had hooked a volley well wide for the hosts, Islam Slimani nearly found Riyad Mahrez with a chested pass inside the area before Daley Blind scrambled away a unsafe ball from Christian Fuchs. The United No. 8 crossed it to Rashford across the box and the teenager made no mistake from two yards out.
All the same, Mourinho is entitled to think his team selection was justified, given the margin of victory and that blitz in the first period when his side scored all their goals and looked equipped to add even more. Leicester were looking deer caught in the headlights and would have been delighted to hear the halftime whistle.
United had got back to winning ways on Wednesday with a timely, if at times unconvincing, EFL Cup win at Northampton and Mourinho made eight changes to that side – most notably dropping skipper Rooney to the bench.
Juan Mata was given the responsibility of playing in behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Rooney’s usual role in the side. For the rest of the half, it was United at its relentless best. Their anonymous stars, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, came of.
Half-time substitute Demarai Gray pulled a goal back for Leicester in the 60th minute with a spectacular strike from the edge of the area, and he almost got a second in the 77th minute with a curling effort which fully tested David de Gea. The other sub, Andy King, then nearly made it 4-2 in the 68th minute, but his side-footed shot from inside the box went straight to De Gea.
Advertisement
An exceptional start to the campaign was followed by a stark drop-off after the worldwide break, leading criticism and scrutiny to mount on United’s manager, captain and overall set-up.
