Manchester United vs. Leicester: Score, Grades and Reaction from Premier League
Radamel Falcao bagged his fourth Premier League goal on Saturday as Manchester United beat Leicester City 3-1 at Old Trafford to move into third in the English top flight.
The Colombian's bundled finish added to Robin van Persie's fine opener, before Wes Morgan headed into his own net to hand the hosts a 3-0 lead at half time.
Marcin Wasilewski scored late on for Leicester to hint at an unlikely comeback, but the three points eventually went to United courtesy of a dominant opening period.
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Neither side began the match with much intent, the first 25 minutes providing a paucity of genuine attempts on goal.
However, on 27 minutes, Daley Blind dispossessed a dithering Andrej Kramaric inside the Leicester half and clipped a terrific ball over the defence for Van Persie to finish well with a right-footed half-volley.
As Match of the Day's Gary Lineker notes, there was more than a suspicion of offside for the opener but it was not flagged by the official:
"Van Persie scores but looked offside to me. Mainly because he was.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 31, 2015"
Five minutes later, United doubled their lead as Van Persie released Di Maria, the Argentinian's shot initially parried by Mark Schwarzer, only for Falcao to bundle it home as he followed up.
It was a fine counter-attack from the Red Devils, and Di Maria should arguably have done better with his shot, but it was an invaluable goal for the Colombian who has been under fire recently for failing to find the net often enough, per Squawka's Greg Johnson:
Things went from bad to worse for bottom-of-the-table Leicester in the dying stages of the opening half, as Morgan headed a Wayne Rooney corner into his own net.
The United captain whipped in a terrific ball which was headed on by Blind, and Morgan could only divert it home and hand the Red Devils a 3-0 lead at the break.
In the reverse fixture back in September, the Foxes turned a 3-1 deficit into a famous 5-3 win, but a repeat performance was looking highly unlikely for Nigel Pearson's men.
Indeed, when the sides returned after the break, Louis van Gaal's men continued to dominate possession, and it looked a case of damage limitation for Leicester.
While United only carved out half chances, they were completely in control until substitute Marc Albrighton found space on the right and clipped in a terrific ball that was headed home by an unmarked Wasilewski in the 84th minute.
The hosts seemed to panic slightly, and Di Maria could have wrapped things up minutes later but blasted his shot over the bar after controlling a long ball beautifully to set up the chance.
United regained control in the dying minutes and claimed a comfortable 3-1 win come the final whistle, which leaves Leicester still propping up the rest of the league while Van Gaal's men move into third.
Player Grades
Robin van Persie: A
The Dutchman has been under pressure of late after failing to find the back of the net as regularly as is expected, but Van Persie was back on form on Saturday.
Though potentially offside, his stretching half-volley for United's opener was a thing of beauty, as he latched onto the end of Blind's chipped ball.
Equally importantly, he showed great strength to win the ball on the halfway line in the buildup to the second goal, then released a perfectly weighted pass to Di Maria with Falcao eventually finishing off, per TSN's Jason de Vos:
"Falcao makes it 2-0. Great strength from van Persie, transition from Di Maria.
— Jason deVos (@jasondevos) January 31, 2015"
He was replaced by Paddy McNair in the 68th minute after a particularly fine performance that proves he still has a huge part to play for United in the remaining games of the season.
Daley Blind: A-
United had a handful of good performers on Saturday, but Blind was particularly impressive, contributing well in both attack and defence.
He provided a fine scooped ball for Van Persie to bag the opener, per the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst, and showed great intent to get on the end of Rooney's corner for the third:
His first-half statistics, per Squawka, show just how effective he was:
With Michael Carrick's career inevitably drawing to a close, Blind looks more than capable of taking up the mantle in the centre of Van Gaal's midfield.
Mark Schwarzer: B-
Veteran Australian keeper Schwarzer could do little to keep out the opening goal from Van Persie and Morgan's own-goal left him rooted to the line.
However, his parry of Di Maria's shot allowed Falcao to follow up and make it 2-0, and, arguably, if he had held on to the ball, it could have been a different story.
Schwarzer set a seasonal record across Europe on Saturday, per Squawka, but it will not be a performance he will likely retain in his memory for long:
His experience could be vital for Leicester, though, at the business end of the season, and he will not always be up against such attacking quality as that on display at Old Trafford.
Post-Match Reaction
Despite Leicester's late rally, football writer Iain Macintosh felt it was a comfortable victory for the hosts:
Van Gaal was highly complimentary of the opening two goals, picking out Van Persie for particular praise in setting up the second, per United's Twitter feed:
The Dutch manager will no doubt be hoping for more of the same when United travel to West Ham United next weekend in the league.
