It was a game where surprisingly few, except the most die-hard United fans, had given the Reds much chance of a win, and this at the Theater of Dreams where United used to be considered as invincible. A difficult match was envisaged not just because the Foxes had been showing the better play in the previous games, but mostly due to United’s injury list.
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Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial were ruled out on Friday, joining long-term absentees Eric Bailly and Timothy Fosu-Mensah on the sidelines. A thigh injury meant Luke Shaw was missing, while Diogo Dalot has a long term hip trouble. Aaron Wan-Bissaka had been struggling with a back complaint, but at least passed a late fitness test. Illness prevented even Jesse Lingard from taking part.
There were thus fears that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have a depleted side, but with Aaron Wan-Bissaka recovering, there was in fact only one change from the draw at Southampton.
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United’s midfielders deserve in my view the Players of the Match. Pereira had a very good opening half-hour, buzzing around nicely, creating a few half-chances and working particularly well with Wan Bissaka down the right.
Nemanja Matic made his comeback but the Serbian looked thankful to have McTominay zipping around as he tended to look lost in the midfield.
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The Boss was full of praise for Scott McTominay. “I thought McTominay was excellent. He lost the ball a few times, but you expect that because he’s still learning his role. He goes into tackles and he’s a leader. I wouldn’t want to go into a 50-50 with him! I thought he did excellent all day.”
In the end it took a penalty to give United their win. United have been awarded five more penalties than any other Premier League team since the start of last season (16), scoring 11 of those, and are unbeaten in their last 134 home Premier League games when they’ve scored first.
Thus this was a game where many had predicted United to slip up, and the relief was tangible at the final whistle, the win providing a building block ahead of a busy September with the return of European football when United host Astana in their first Europa League group stage clash on Thursday.
Article contributed by Echoes Contributor Kenneth. Comments are appreciated on our Facebook page.
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