Man United climb to 5th with win over foundering Leicester City
Sports Desk, Sep 1 (EFE).- Manchester United topped Leicester City 1-0 Thursday to move up to fifth place in the Premier League, while the still-winless Foxes tumbled to the bottom of the table.
United’s first three-game winning streak of 2022 was delivered by a starting 11 that did not include Cristiano Ronaldo, team captain Harry Maguire and summer signing Casemiro, though the Portuguese striker and the Brazilian midfielder have been getting minutes as subs.
And coach Erik ten Hag will soon have the option of Brazilian forward Antony, acquired Thursday from Ajax for a reported 95 million euros.
The Red Devils were clearly the superior side in the first half at King Power Stadium in Leicester and the reward materialized in the 23rd minute with a goal by Jadon Sancho, who lured Danny Ward off his line before going around the goalkeeper to score.
Bruno Fernandes sent the ball forward to Marcus Rushford, whose perfectly-placed pass found Sancho in the box.
Sancho’s bid for a second goal was thwarted by Leicester defender James Justin in the 37th minute, which proved to be the last scoring chance of the first half for either team.
The Foxes grabbed the initiative at the start of the second half and it took an outstanding stop by David De Gea to deny James Maddison on a free kick in the 51st minute.
Brought on in the 68th minute, Ronaldo sent a ball across the front that Christian Eriksen would have transformed into a goal in the 82nd minute but for the intervention of defender Jonny Evans.
Seconds later, the five-time Ballon d’Or sent a tremendous shot just wide of the post. EFE apa/dr
