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The substitutes Marcus Rashford and Marouane Fellaini broke Leicester down in the final quarter after Kasper Schmeichel saved a Romelu Lukaku penalty

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Sat 26 Aug 2017 14.22 EDTFirst published on Sat 26 Aug 2017 11.30 EDT
Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini celebrates scoring their second goal.
Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini celebrates scoring their second goal. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images via Reuters
Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini celebrates scoring their second goal. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images via Reuters

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Full time: Manchester United 2-0 Leicester City

That’s it. Manchester United continue their intimidating start to the season with another win and another clean sheet. They had to work hard against an admirable Leicester defence before the substitutes Marcus Rashford and Marouane Fellaini settled the match. Thanks for your company, night!

90+4 min Lukaku almost gets his goal, hitting a close-range shot that is deflected over the bar by the stretching Morgan. Great defending.

Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku is denied by some top notch defending from Wes Morgan. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA
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90+3 min De Gea makes a terrific late save from King, who diverted Gray’s low cross towards goal from barely five yards. De Gea spread himself to divert it wide with a stiff right leg.

Leicester City’s Andy King reacts after having an effort saved by Manchester United’s David De Gea. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
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85 min Six of United’s ten league goals this season have come from the 80th minute onwards.

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Lingard made a great run behind the defence, came back inside Morgan and hit a shot that was kneed into the net by Fellaini. I don’t know how much Fellaini knew about it. I do knew he looked fractionally offside, so Leicester might have been hard done by there. It’s been a good day for Jose Mourinho though: two of his substitutes scored, and the other made the second goal.

Marouane Fellaini doubles United’s lead. Photograph: Philip Oldham/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock
Fellaini celebrates in front of the happy United fans. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
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82 min “It’s surely been said but this United team is almost a straight copy of Chelsea ‘05,” says Arthur Tee. “All Bailly needs is curly hair.”

I’d say this United team is a bit more technical, and nowhere near as good. Take your point though, there are loads of similarities.

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81 min United are comfortable at the moment, killing time through the age-old method of passing the football to a team-mate.

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80 min United are ten minutes away from a third consecutive clean sheet. They were solid even before Matic, so you can’t imagine that will be a problem area for them this season. It’s a much better defence on the pitch than on paper, which reflects well on Mourinho.

77 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Adam Roberts. “Yes, it was a harsh penalty; yes, it was poor effort from Lukaku. But why have referees completely stopped judging the goalkeepers’ adherence to the rules on penalties? It was as if Schmeichel was charging down a conversion in rugby.”

He was well off his line, it’s true.

75 min United’s final change: Jesse Lingard replaces Anthony Martial, who was a sporadic but considerable threat, particularly when he ran at Simpson.

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74 min Mkhitaryan comes off to be replaced by Marouane Fellaini. He makes an immediate impact with a strong header forward to Lukaku, who runs at the last man Morgan before smashing the ball over the bar from 20 yards.

It’s another assist for Mkhitaryan, an outswinging corner that was missed by everyone at the near post. Rashford, left alone 10 yards out by Ndidi, swung his right foot instinctively and the ball kicked off the pitch before going through the diving Schmeichel.

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford opens the scoring. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
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GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Leicester (Rashford 70)

Marcus Rashford won the corner, and now he’s scored from it.

70 min Pogba plays a great pass to the overlapping Rashford, whose fierce low cross is blocked by the superb Maguire.

69 min “As wonderful a story as Leicester’s title win was, it was ruined for me by Robert Huth,” chirps Matt Dolny. “Comfortably my least favourite footballer. I have an irrational level of dislike for him. Even when he’s not playing, his very association with the club makes me want them to lose. Except, they’re playing United. Who I also want to lose. Yet another frustrating Saturday night, bound to end in disappointment. It’s like I’m 19 again.”

68 min United have been quite flat since missing the penalty, with Leicester posing a greater threat on the counter-attack. Craig Shakespeare might be a future England manager, you know.

66 min The little genius Mahrez is really straight to threaten. He sends Blind off to another postcode with a lovely dragback before rifling the ball right across the face of goal.

65 min We haven’t seen Harry Maguire marauding forward today. What we have seen, as Owen Hargreaves points out on BT Sport, is that he is a bloody good defender.

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64 min What a chance for Leicester! Gray broke forward, with Mahrez in a wonderful position to his right, but his through pass was late and overhit. Mahrez still managed to manufacture a shot, which was blocked by Jones, but with a better pass he’d have had a one-on-one.

63 min Mkhitaryan fizzes a penetrative angled pass into Martial, who is superbly tackled in the box by Morgan.

62 min Leicester have had a very narrow defence, happy for United to cross towards Morgan and Maguire. So far it has worked very well. Maguire in particular has had a fine game.

61 min “Rob!” says Iloti Mutoka. “FM 2017 has it at Matic as DM/MC and Herrera as a M/AMC. Incidentally, it says Utd are 11th because I haven’t started the season yet and that Herrera’s morale is good, to Matic’s Very Good. Maybe Mourinho is is looking at that, too.”

60 min A double change for Leicester: Demarai Gray for Albrighton, and Andy King for Okazaki. That should mean a switch to 4-3-3-.

59 min Mahrez dances beautifully past Jones and into the box, only for the ball to hit his standing foot as he shapes to shoot. It dribbles wide, but without that unwitting touch he’d have had a great chance.

56 min Simpson is really struggling to deal with Martial, who wins another corner. It’s cleared and Leicester break dangerously. Eventually Mahrez slithers away from Jones and rattles an early shot from a tight angle that is kicked away by De Gea.

55 min Bailly bumps Albrighton over 25 yards from goal, and again Michael Oliver surprisingly gives no foul.

54 min Mkhitaryan is booked for fouling Mahrez, who danced past him on a rare Leicester break.

Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez is fouled by Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters
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SCHMEICHEL SAVES THE PENALTY!

It was a poor penalty from Lukaku, hit with pace but telegraphed and nowhere near the corner. Schmeichel dived to his right to push it away. Leicester will feel that justice has been done. There were maybe five yards between Martial and Simpson, but Simpson did not move his hand towards the ball.

Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku see his penalty saved by Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel. Photograph: Rui Vieira/AP
Wes Morgan congratulates Schmeichel on his save. Photograph: Peter Powell/EPA
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PENALTY TO UNITED

Martial’s cross hits the hand of Simpson, and Michael Oliver gives a penalty. I think that’s a bit harsh.

Leicester’s Danny Simpson appears to handle the ball from a Anthony Martial of Manchester United cross, giving away a penalty. Photograph: Philip Oldham/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock
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50 min Leicester are defending so deep. Lukaku rolls Maguire on the line of the box and goes over after a bit of contact. Maguire put hands on him but I’m not sure there was enough for a penalty.

48 min Both teams have good attacking options on the bench: Rashford, Fellaini, Lingard, Slimani, Iheanacho, Gray.

“Re Herrera v Matic: different players,” says Paul Ewart. “Herrera may have more quality but Matic is a specialist. Simple as that isn’t it?”

Yep! In Football Manager terms, Matic is a DMC, Herrera is an MC. I assume they still define players like that, anyway. I haven’t actually played it since the Tonton Zola Moukoko years.

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Half time: Manchester United 0-0 Leicester City

Peep peep! Attack and defence, invasion and repulsion ... the last 30 minutes of that half were like a training session. Yet for all United’s dominance and bright football, not to mention the series of heatseekers that came off Paul Pogba’s right foot, Kasper Schmeichel didn’t have that much to do. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

45 min Pogba is bumped over in the D by Okazaki, but Michael Oliver plays on. Seconds earlier, Lukaku took down Valencia’s cross in the area - possibly with his arm - before being crowded out.

41 min Blind’s flat cross is headed well wide by Lukaku, who was under pressure from Maguire. That came from another excellent crossfield reacher from Pogba.

40 min Leicester started the game really well but they’ve been unable to keep the ball in the last 20 minutes or so.

37 min Maguire is penalised for wrestling Lukaku to the floor 25 yards from goal. Pogba hits the free-kick into the top of the wall.

36 min “You have to feel for Herrera a little, being out of the side despite being the outstanding player last year,” says David Wall. “Do you really think that Matic does that much that he couldn’t do? Would you agree with people who say that that signing was the moment United crossed the Rubicon to become real title challengers?”

Arf. Yes, Matic is much better in that particular position. Herrera will get plenty of games alongside Matic though, particularly the big ones.

35 min Pogba has a bit of room 30 yards out and belts an excellent low shot just wide of the left post. Schmeichel, who I think was unsighted, wouldn’t have got to it.

35 min Matic and Mata combine to find Pogba, whose fierce shot from a tight angle is beaten away by Schmeichel.

34 min United are thumping on the door now, though Leicester have generally restricted them to long-range efforts.

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