Manchester United v Leicester player ratings

24 September 2016 01:38

MANCHESTER UNITED

David De Gea: Could do nothing about Demarai Gray's wonder goal and produced a good save when the youngster tried a repeat. 6/10

Antonio Valencia: Caught out early on by Marc Albrighton. Not as effective going forward as Daley Blind on the other side but willing as ever. 6

Eric Bailly: United's defence had a relatively quiet afternoon. 6

Chris Smalling: His headed goal opened the floodgates. 6

Daley Blind: The source of so much United pressure down the left and his corners directly led to three goals. 8

Ander Herrera: The attention was elsewhere but a solid performance in front of the back four. 6

Paul Pogba: The performance United fans have been waiting for from their world-record signing. His passing was sublime and his header was not bad either. 9

Jesse Lingard: Busy and willing and produced a fine flick for Mata's goal. 7

Juan Mata: Playing in his preferred number 10 role, Mata shone, scoring a superb goal and setting up the third for Marcus Rashford. 8

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: A goal was all that was missing, with the Swede a constant thorn in Leicester's side. 8

Marcus Rashford: Showed an unusual lack of composure when he was played in by Ibrahimovic but was not to be denied and turned in a training-ground corner routine for United's third. 7

Substitutes

Michael Carrick (for Lingard, 78): Always a reassuring presence in midfield. 5

Wayne Rooney (for Rashford, 83): Left out of the starting line-up but given a brief run-out. 5

Ashley Young (for Mata, 87): No time to make an impact. 5

LEICESTER

Ron-Robert Zieler: Let down badly by his defence for the three goals United scored from corners. 5

Danny Simpson: United were rampant down their left in the first half, with Simpson struggling to deal with the twin threats of Blind and Rashford. 4

Wes Morgan: Leicester's defensive solidity was the cornerstone of last year's title success and they badly need to get it back. 5

Robert Huth: Normally such a dominant presence, Huth was beaten in the air for two of the goals. 4

Christian Fuchs: Fared better than Simpson but did not get a hold on the threat of Mata. 5

Daniel Amartey: Lacking in authority and too often left his defence exposed. 4

Danny Drinkwater: One of Leicester's better players on the day but his efforts were in vain. 6

Riyad Mahrez: Struggled to make an impact and taken off at half-time with the Champions League in mind. 5

Marc Albrighton: Had some bright moments in the first half but substituted early in the second. 5

Jamie Vardy: Starved of service and, like Mahrez, sat out the second half. 4

Islam Slimani: Never stopped running but could not offer any threat to De Gea's goal. 5

Substitutes

Andy King (for Vardy, 46): Had one of Leicester's better chances but hit it straight at De Gea. 5

Demarai Gray (for Mahrez 46): The bright spot for the Foxes was Gray's superb goal, and he almost grabbed a second. 6

Jeff Schlupp (for Albrighton, 62): Played his part in an improved second-half display. 5

Source: PA-WIRE