Man United were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Leicester City in their return to action in the Premier League on Saturday, April 2.
The Red Devils had to come back from being 1-0 down to get the draw are now 3 points behind fourth-place Arsenal - who have 2 games in hand.
Tactics
With Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo both ruled out of the game, Ralf Rangnick played Bruno Fernandes as the false no.9 in his 4-3-3 system.
But Bruno didn’t really seem to know what was expected of him and played more as a midfielder than a forward.
Paul Pogba often had to take up his positions in the final third, but he also failed to impress in the attacking areas.
The Frenchman tried to play as a centre-forward at times, but couldn't make the necessary impact in the box.
United lacked the hunger and desire to pick up a big win or produce a hard-fought performance despite playing their first game in over two weeks.
They moved the ball slowly and played mostly in the midfield rather than Leicester’s area, with only 31% of the game being played in the Foxes’ final third.
The major problem was the lack of a genuine number nine. All the players were mingled together in deep areas and there was no real threat to take the fight to Leicester’s defenders, almost making it easy for them.
Things heated up in the second half and United were forced to act after going 0-1 down. They pounced on some sloppy goalkeeping from Kasper Schmeichel to score the equalizer with Fred tapping in a rebound of Fernandes’ shot.
Rangnick aimed to change things up by bringing on Marcus Rashford as the centre-forward, but he hardly got any service in the final third.
Alex Telles replaced Luke Shaw at half-time but made little impact, while Nemanja Matic’s introduction during the need for a goal was surprising.
Tactics score – 4/10
Finishing
The Red Devils didn’t play the most exciting football on Saturday, but they were able to link up some nice moves to get into Leicester’s attacking areas. The Red Devils had 11 shot attempts towards the opposition goal, but only scored one goal.
That was mostly because of the lack of a clinical finisher in the final third. They had a few weak shots straight at Schmeichel and failed to pounce on a few promising fast break situations throughout the game.
In the 27th minute, Fred made a smart interception and played Bruno through on goal in a 1v1 situation with Schmeichel.
However, Fernandes’ shot was saved by the goalkeeper and it wasn’t really the most threatening attempt either.
The Red Devils had a few chances at a late winner but squandered it. Marcus Rashford managed to move past multiple defenders in the Leicester box to position himself for a big scoring chance.
But he was tackled by Anthony Elanga – who was in an offside position – and the move was ruled out.
Jadon Sancho also hit a volley attempt well wide towards the end of the game. The majority of United’s shots were from inside the 18-yard box, but they just couldn’t convert the chances created in those areas.
Finishing score – 4.5/10
Defence
Many fans questioned United’s defensive ability as Harry Maguire’s recent form has been shaky. Rangnick came up with a solution. He switched Harry to a right centre-back role, while Raphael Varane played on the left-side.
This actually worked well as the two worked in tandem to stop Leicester’s attacking moves, with Maguire looking comfortable at the back and popping up with crucial interceptions.
As for the goal which United conceded, it was really sloppy. It came from a failed counter-attack. They gave away the ball inside their own half before James Maddison found a lot of space on the left-wing to swing in a cross into the box.
Varane lost mark of Kelechi Ihenacho, who scored a diving header that went past David de Gea’s reach. The Spaniard, although, made a sensational save after that goal to ensure Leicester couldn’t get any more past him.
Leicester did score towards the 81st minute through James Maddison, but VAR ruled it out as Varane was clearly fouled in the build-up play. United didn’t look as shaky as they have in recent weeks at the back, producing some smart defending.
Defending score: 6/10
Team Spirit
After that embarrassing Champions League elimination to Atletico Madrid, fans expected United to bring back some joy with an exciting performance against a Leicester side who have struggled to impress in 2022.
However, the Red Devils lacked the energy and hunger to really take the fight to the Foxes on the day. They were lethargic in the attack and underwhelming with their finishing, despite having a few shots on the goal.
The only sense of urgency arrived after Leicester took the lead in the 62nd minute. United equalized few minutes later through Fred and had around 25 minutes to find a late winner.
Yet, it was Leicester who came the closest to actually scoring towards the end. The players’ energy levels dimmed down and they became sloppy, wasting a couple of decent chances towards the end and never showing that willingness to go the extra mile to score the winner.
Team spirit score: 3/10
