Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United: Player Ratings

Harry Maguire’s last-ditch goal denied Manchester United a victory in an entertaining game at the King Power Stadium.

The hosts went ahead when Jamie Vardy finished off a classic Leicester City counter-attack. The lead was canceled out 12 minutes later when Juan Mata tucked in a Lingard layoff at the far post. The Spaniard then put the visitors in front in the second half thanks to a magnificent free-kick from just outside the penalty area.

As Claude Puel’s side were left chasing the game, their task was made even harder when substitute Daniel Amartey was shown a red card for two bookable offences. The hosts, however, were not disheartened and kept fighting until Maguire latched on to Marc Albrighton’s long ball, slotting it into the far corner to spark jubilant celebrations amongst the Foxes supporters.

Here are the player ratings from the encounter:

Leicester City

Kasper Schmeichel – 6

Schmeichel made a flying save in the opening minute of the game. However, his technique for Mata’s free-kick was questionable, as he flapped a hand while diving across when a punch would have sufficed.

Danny Simpson – 6

Simpson was constantly tested by Martial and Young on the left wing, but managed to come out unscathed as no goals were scored from his flank. His night ended early due to injury.

Wes Morgan – 6.5

The skipper put in a typical centre-half’s performance – clearances and tackles aplenty to keep United’s attacking threats frustrated. He marshaled his back four strongly and it was only when the Foxes were chasing the game that the Leicester's defence began to get stretched.

Harry Maguire – 7.5

Maguire had the last laugh, receiving Albrighton’s lofted pass and coolly slotting it into the far corner to earn his side a point. Defensively, he was solid and did not leave any gaps for United to exploit in the penalty area.

Christian Fuchs – 6

Fuchs was unable to inject any quality into his crosses while going forward. At the back, he maintained his position and discipline to keep Lindelof quiet for the majority of the game.

Vicente Iborra – 6

The Spaniard misplaced a couple of passes in midfield to hand possession back to United, but had a good game overall, as he attempted to drive the ball forward when in possession.

Wilfried Ndidi - 6

The defensive midfielder showed desire to run around the middle of the park and win the ball back for his side. He is still vulnerable to committing aggressive fouls and rushing passes under pressure, which the 21-year old will improve as his career progresses.

Riyad Mahrez – 7.5

The midfield battle was fascinating to watch

Mahrez let his fleet-footedness do the talking, cutting in from the right wing and feeding his team-mates on numerous occasions. He displayed excellent composure, waiting for Vardy to arrive in the box before laying the ball on a platter for him to finish.

Demarai Gray – 6.5

Gray’s movement in and around the attacking third gave Matic a few problems. He got more involved in the game after Leicester went behind, as the hosts looked to use his pace to make inroads into the United defence.

Marc Albrighton – 7

Albrighton made useful runs down the left-hand side of the pitch to test makeshift full-back Lindelof. He caught United out with a dinked ball off the last attack of the game, that found Maguire, who controlled the ball well before beating David de Gea to snatch a point for the Foxes.

Jamie Vardy – 7.5

Vardy scored his 50th Premier League goal, thanks to his desire to cover the yards for the Foxes. His work-rate was commendable.

Substitutes:

Daniel Amartey – 4

Amartey’s stint on the pitch lasted roughly 15 minutes, as he was sent off for two bookable offences – for hacking down Martial and Rashford respectively when he was well beaten for pace on the wings.

Shinji Okazaki – 6

The Japanese was introduced as a second striker alongside Vardy with the hopes of getting Leicester back into the game. He made a few nice runs down the middle, but was halted by United’s strong defending.

Ben Chilwell – 5

Chilwell came on in the 81st minute and didn’t have any real impact from left wing – no crosses or key passes of note.

Manchester United

Juan Mata stole the show for United

David de Gea – 6.5

De Gea made a few routine stops and there was very little he could do to prevent Vardy and Maguire from scoring.

Victor Lindelof - 6

Lindelof – playing at right-back – had to be defensively prepared to deal with Leicester’s breakaways, especially the one that led to the goal. He didn’t provide much going forward, seeing most of his balls intercepted or blocked by an opponent.

Phil Jones – 6

Jones was uncompromising in defence, though he should have been the one marking the aerially powerful Harry Maguire in the closing stages when Smalling was injured.

Chris Smalling – 6.5

Smalling was left on his own to handle Mahrez, and then by Vardy, in the build-up to the first goal. His performance was solid, although an injury in the dying stages was a critical factor in United conceding the second goal.

Ashley Young – 6.5

Young, along with Lindelof, could be held accountable for not patrolling the United half to prevent Leicester counter-attacks. Going forward, he was impressive yet again, displaying great footwork to get in behind Simpson and put crosses in.

Nemanja Matic – 6.5

Matic was defensively tested by the pace of Gray. His passing was slightly off the mark at the King Power, though his long balls were accurate for the full-backs to attack.

Paul Pogba – 6

Pogba was all over the place in the first half. He improved in the second half as soon as he took up a box-to-box role, picking out red shirts with his beautifully paced passes and giving his teammates opportunities to get in behind the hosts’ defence.

Jesse Lingard – 7

Lingard was often seen interchanging positions with Mata, as they tried to unsettle the Foxes’ defence with pace and ball-movement in the vicinity of the box. His excellent pass to put Lukaku in a one-on-one situation was a reflection of his form. He was unlucky to hit the post after rounding the goalkeeper in the second half.

Juan Mata – 8.5

The Spaniard’s ability to excel in limited pockets of space was needed by United on Saturday night, as he dictated their attacking pursuits with weaving runs and well-directed passes. His first goal was well-worked, taking a touch to take the pace off the ball before slotting it into the corner. The second was a textbook Mata freekick, as he floated it above the wall and under the crossbar to give United the lead. He was United’s Man of the Match at the King Power Stadium.

Anthony Martial – 6

Martial was not at his best

Martial was heavily involved in United's build-up play – getting goal-side of right-back Danny Simpson and running the byline – but couldn’t really provide the killer pass across the face of goal for the likes of Lukaku to finish. He skied a one-on-one opportunity over the bar when put through on goal by Lukaku.

Romelu Lukaku – 7.5

Lukaku may have been in the firing line in recent weeks, but his performance at the King Power Stadium silenced the critics, at least temporarily. He played the role of a number nine to great effect, holding up the ball and laying it off for his teammates to get into great scoring opportunities – most of which were horribly fluffed.

Substitutes:

Marcus Rashford – 6

Rashford was lively on the left wing after replacing Anthony Martial. However, he missed a glaring chance when put through by Lukaku, trying to round Schmeichel – unsuccessfully – when he should have gone for the shot that would have given United a 3-1 lead.

Ander Herrera – 6.5

Herrera was brought on to see the game out and he was nearly successful.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 6

The Armenian made a rare Premier League appearance off the bench and got in behind the opposition backline on a couple of instances, but could not convert them into anything meaningful.