Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United: Player Ratings

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.