Manchester United have not managed to keep their winning streak going. It has ended at the King Power Stadium, where Leicester City had enough about them to get a point off the Red Devils, with the match ending 2-2. For the first time in a while when Man United have played away from home in the Premier League, it was Manchester United who actually scored the opener, with Marcus Rashford’s nice finish midway through the first half. Just 10 minutes later Harvey Barnes made it 1-1, before United had the last hope of getting a win.
They did get a 2-1 lead when Bruno Fernandes scored with just 11 minutes to go, but Jamie Vardy’s deflected shot six minutes later made it Axel Tuanzebe’s unlucky own goal for the draw.
Missed Chances Cost United
Why Manchester United did not win? The answer to that is much simpler than in some other cases – United had their chances, they were creating them, they just did not convert enough of them. The two goals away from home are not bad thing at all, but there were also a couple of instances when the Devils could have burried the ball into the net. That mostly falls to Marcus Rashford, who had a great finish to open the scoring, but then his finishing was not that great when he missed entire goal with a close range header and then when he made a great chance be the opportunity for Kasper Schmeichel to make a wonderful save.
Defending Still An Issue
But the other reason – and far more important one in the grander scheme of things – why Manchester United did not win is because their defending keeps allowing great opportunities to the opposition. Both goals United conceded, came after their own mistakes which allowed Leicester to take advantage. Before Barnes’ goal in the first half, when his shot looked as if he was at practice, not a Premier League match, came after Harry Maguire was too lackadaisical at the edge of United’s box. The other one was also comical – first Luke Shaw failed to stop a cross from his flank, before Vardy remained alone between three United defenders, despite the fact he was the only Leicester player in front of the goal.
Right Flank Does Not Function
This match served as a good chance to see certain changes in the team, some of which needed to happen and some of which did not. For example, Man United’s right-flank did not function at all during most of the match, with Victor Lindelof being pushed outwards to fill in at right-back and Daniel James getting a start on the right wing. Most notably, it was James that did not do much good for the team, after getting just 12 completed passes and getting nowhere near the box for him to actually be dangerous.
Cavani Makes Impact In Limited Time
We have talked many times about Edinson Cavani and how impactful he has been since arriving in Manchester and he showed that once again. The Uruguayan spent just 15 minutes on the pitch, but he needed just three or four to make a lovely assist for Bruno Fernandes’ goal. His importance in this team is exactly because United often lack central forwards who are going to constantly torture opposition defences. Cavani’s class is that obvious.
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