Manchester United 3-0 Leicester City: 4 Things We Learned From Rashford Masterclass

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Manchester United's Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring their first goal.

REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Manchester United vs. Leicester City was expected to be the clash of two in-form sides giving each other a hard time.

But at the end of 90 minutes, it was the Red Devils who were the technically superior outfit, securing a convincing 3-0 victory courtesy of a neat brace from Marcus Rashford and a well-found goal from Jadon Sancho.

Let us take a look at the main takeaways from the encounter.

1. Rashford’s Form

It is not even February and Marcus Rashford has scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo did in all of last season. With 24 goals in all competitions, this has been his best goal-scoring season so far, last season’s dip in form already a blip in the radar.

What is more important for Erik ten Hag though is that since the World Cup his top scorer is in blistering form, eliminating Erling Haaland from the headlines altogether despite the latter’s more superior numbers.

 

2. Fernandes’ Versatility

Lot of questions were raised of Ten Hag for deploying Woug Weghorst at no.10 and Bruno Fernandes at right-wing. However, in this game the Portuguese maestro was incredible in the spot, finding two incredible assists.

It is a testament to his versatility that he was able to complement Weghorst in the first-half and then Sancho too with much ease. Much like shifting Luke Shaw to centre-back this is a genius move that can be deployed to tactical finesse.

 

3. United’s Midfield

Supporters would have been relieved to see Scott McTominay back to match fitness, providing some depth to an otherwise thinning midfield.

However, the middle of the park was a stable spot for the Red Devils with Fred and Sabitzer excelling at stabilizing the play. Fred, in particular, appeared to be everywhere on the pitch and the on-loan midfielder has eased into his role quite well.

Further, this game saw Mainoo given his Premier League debut to some really promising minutes on the pitch.

 

4. De Gea’s Record

David De Gea did more than give Stretford End a taste of his past glory. Based on who’s counting, the Spaniard who was once dismissed as too scrawny for the Premier League and a few years down the line seemed Real Madrid bound has now secured to his name the joint-most clean sheets of any Manchester United goalkeeper.

https://twitter.com/Pschmeichel1/status/1627342620589432834

Peter Schmeichel’s 180 clean sheets record seemed unattainable but De Gea’s recent return to picturesque form has ensured that Leicester were kept out despite being so good at scoring on the road.