MANCHESTER UNITED 1, LEICESTER CITY 0
Marcus Rashford’s penalty was the difference between Manchester United and Leicester City as the Reds put in a dogged performance to protect their lead in an even game.
United’s second win in 5 games this season took them temporarily up to fourth place in the Premier League and above top-6 rivals Leicester.
Reds boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made just one change from their side that drew 1-1 with Southampton – with injured Paul Pogba replaced by Nemanja Matic.
Rashford drew first blood early, converting a penalty after just 8 minutes after he had been brought down by Caglar Soyuncu.
United successfully disrupted the Foxes’ buildup for much of the first half at the expense of their own clear cut chances.
There was a lot of banter between the fans over the summer transfer of Harry Maguire to Old Trafford, with home fans celebrating the big defender nicking the ball off Demarai Gray in the second half to much merriment from the home fans.
James Maddison had seen an early shot saved by David De Gea and his second half free kick almost saw Leicester bag an equaliser but the highly rated playmaker saw his effort go over the bar.
Rashford hit the bar with a free kick as United successfully nullified the Leicester attack, with Maddison frustrated as the Reds dug deep to defend their slender lead.
PLAYER RATINGS – Manchester United 1, Leicester City 0
David De Gea: 7. Did well to save from James Maddison early on and tipped over a volley by Ben Chilwell.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 7. Kept busy looking after Demarai Gray. Looked solid in defence.
Harry Maguire: 7. Booed incessantly by the Leicester fans. Was targeted by Leicester for every United set piece. Dispossessed by Jamie Vardy in the second half but his square ball across the area went begging for a tap in. Got a massive cheer when he dispossessed Demarai Gray.
Victor Lindelof: 7. Misjudged a bounce from a Kasper Schmeichel clearance to let James Maddison shoot but didn’t let that get to him. Defended set pieces well.
Ashley Young: 7. Lent experience to the defence.
Nemanja Matic: 6. Reassuring presence in front of the back four. Saw a second half shot go high before going off for a rest.
Scott McTominay: 8. Allowed to get forward more and looked more confident in United’s engine room defensively in a battling United performance.
Juan Mata: 6. Did his fair share of pressing and tested Kasper Schmeichel in the second half.
Andreas Pereira: 6. Worked very hard in midfield, tracking back and trying to win the ball. Not too effective going forward.
Daniel James: 6. Caused alarm in Leicester defence with his running as he regularly tried to get behind the Foxes defence. Didn’t endear himself to the travelling fans when he went down too easily against Wilfred Ndidi but could have scored another screamer in the second half. Less effective after switching to the right when Tahith Chong was introduced.
Marcus Rashford: 7. Converted his penalty confidently after being brought down in the box by Caglar Soyuncu. Hit the crossbar from a 30 yard free kick near the end.
Fred (for Nemanja Matic 66): 6. Brought on to give Nemanja Matic a rest, buzzed around industriously.
Chong (for Juan Mata 70): 6. Some wayward passing but flashes of brilliance too.
Tuanzebe (for Daniel James 90): No time to mark.
GOAL – Manchester United 1, Leicester City 0
Man Utd 1, Leicester City 0: 8. PENALTY! Marcus Rashford stuttered his run up but did enough to send Kasper Schmeichel the wrong way to put United in the lead after he had been brought down by Caglar Soyuncu.
MATCH STATS – Manchester United 1, Leicester City 0
Man Utd: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Young, Matic (Fred 67), McTominay, Mata (Chong 70), Pereira, James (Tuanzebe 90), Rashford
Man Utd Subs not used: Romero, Jones, Greenwood, Gomes
Booked: James 84 (clattering James Maddison)
Goal: Rashford 8 pen
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell, Ndidi, Choudhury (Perez 57), Gray (Barnes 68), Tielemens, Maddison, Vardy
Leicester City Subs not used: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Albrighton, Praet
Booked: Maddison 75 (bringing down Scott McTominay), Chilwell 90+4 (push on Scott McTominay)
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 73,689