Manchester United vs. Leicester: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Manchester United cruised to an easy 3-1 victory over Leicester City at Old Trafford on Saturday to temporarily move into third place in the English Premier League.
Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao scored a goal each within five minutes of each other in the first half to hand United a comfortable lead at home.
United's third goal of the match came by way of a Wes Morgan own goal in the 44th minute. The visiting Foxes knocked in a consolation strike in the 80th minute through Marcin Wasilewski.
Here's a look at the winners and losers from United's dominant home victory.
Winner: Daley Blind
1 of 6
Daley Blind played a key role in two of the three first-half goals scored by Manchester United.
The Dutchman played a terrific pass to his fellow countryman Robin van Persie in the 27th minute after Blind took advantage of a cheap giveaway by Andrej Kramaric.
In the 44th minute, Blind made a neat run at the near post to connect with a corner kick. Blind's header from the left side of the penalty area eventually knocked off Wes Morgan and into the back of the net.
Not only did Blind set up two goals Saturday, but he was also the engine of the dominant United midfield.
At the base of the midfield, the Dutchman made 118 touches and completed 94.2 percent of his 103 passes.
If he can continue to produce solid numbers in the middle of the pitch, United will be able to dictate the pace of many games in the future.
Loser: Andrej Kramaric
2 of 6
In his first league start for Leicester, Andrej Kramaric committed an awful giveaway in his own half.
In the 27th minute, Kramaric let the ball go right to the feet of Daley Blind, who went on to punish the 23-year-old for his mistake by providing Robin van Persie with an assist.
After Kramaric left the door open for United to score, the hosts pounced for a second strike five minutes later.
If he did not turn the ball over in tight space, Leicester might have had a chance to create some momentum in attack and score an unexpected goal.
Winner: Radamel Falcao
3 of 6
To put the second United goal past Leicester 'keeper Mark Schwarzer, Radamel Falcao had to hustle into the center of the penalty area.
Falcao slid in between two defenders and got a piece of the ball after Schwarzer dumped a rebound near the feet of the Colombian.
Instead of watching Angel Di Maria's shot fly in from the left side of the box, Falcao was proactive and made a run just in case a rebound presented itself.
Although it may seem like a small thing in a game against the worst team in the Premier League, Falcao's effort showed he is willing to work for every minute in search of a goal.
I'm more happy that Falcao scored because I think Robin (van Persoe) has scored enough goals already," manager Louis van Gaal said, per ManUtd.com. "Falcao needs that goal more than Robin. But, after all, it’s fantastic they scored—beautiful goals I think with very quick transition for the goal by Falcao, with Robin also having a big part in it, so I’m very happy."
Loser: Wes Morgan
4 of 6
Wes Morgan finished off his second own goal of the season in the 44th minute, as he knocked the ball past Mark Schwarzer with his head.
The center-back's own goal handed United a comfortable three-goal cushion, which was deemed insurmountable by many due to Leicester's lack of control in the possession battle.
The 31-year-old's other own goal came on November 29 in the 3-2 loss to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.
Morgan's 44th-minute concession was an unfortunate result for a Leicester defense that had conceded just two goals in their last four games heading into Saturday.
Winner: Robin van Persie
5 of 6
In the minutes leading up to Robin van Persie's opening goal, the match started to become a little stale, as United kept passing the ball around in midfield.
The atmosphere at Old Trafford changed once the Dutchman volleyed his shot into the left side of the net.
Van Persie's ninth goal of the season gave the Red Devils the momentum boost they were in need of, after they failed to challenge Schwarzer with a legitimate scoring opportunity during the first 25 minutes.
Once Van Persie struck the back of the net, the United attack began to play more inspired football, which eventually led to two more first-half goals.
Loser: Nigel Pearson
6 of 6
Leicester boss Nigel Pearson waited too long to inject some life into his team at Old Trafford.
In the 62nd minute, Pearson brought on Marc Albrighton and David Nugent for the underperforming duo of Leonardo Ulloa and Andrej Kramaric.
The pair of substitutes did ignite a spark under the Leicester attack, but they didn't make a true impact until the 80th minute, when Albrighton found an open Marcin Wasilewski at the left post.
If Pearson had brought on the pair at the half, the Foxes may have put more pressure on the United defense.
Instead, Leicester left Old Trafford with very few positives to build on heading into their home match against Crystal Palace next week.
Speaking to PremierLeague.com after the match, Pearson said:
"Players who went on made a difference. We've got to start these games slightly better, and it's disappointing because we’re capable of better performances than we showed in the first half. When you're 3-0 down, it's important that you get some sort of stability. We didn't want to go caution to the wind and get on the end of a heavy defeat, so it was going to be important for us to try and stay in the game. As the game went on we certainly caused them a few more problems, and every goal was important.
"
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from WhoScored.com.
