Leicester 2-2 Manchester United: Harry Maguire slots stoppage-time equaliser for 10-man Foxes after Juan Mata nets twice for wasteful Red Devils

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Jose Mourinho understandably wasn't in the mood for perspective. He had just watched his Manchester United chuck away a lead against 10-man Leicester City and, even by his own standards, he was brutal in his assessment of his own players.

'Childish' was one word used; 'joke' was another. They hadn't even followed basic instructions at the end when Chris Smalling, limping with an injury, was unable to move and thus couldn't track Harry Maguire's run for a glorious equalising goal with pretty much the last kick of the game. Ashley Young had been tasked with telling the team to protect Smalling; somehow the message hadn't got through.

So it wasn't surprising that Mourinho wasn't ready to look for the bigger picture. But some context: after 19 games last season, the halfway point, they had 36 points and were sixth. After this game, at the same stage, they have 42 points and are second. 

Harry Maguire hit a 94th-minute equaliser as 10-man Leicester City stunned Man United to nick a 2-2 draw at the King Power

Maguire arrived at the far post to confidently shot past David de Gea, who watched on in horror as the ball crossed the line

United star man Juan Mata had earlier scored twice to put the visitors on course for three precious Premier League points

Leicester went ahead when striker Jamie Vardy slid a shot past De Gea for his nine goal of the season in all competitions

But the Red Devils were level before half-time as Spanish midfielder Mata equalised with a controlled left-foot finish

Mata then completed the turnaround with a direct free kick on the hour mark, after Anthony Martial had been fouled

Leicester ended the contest with 10 men after second-half substitute Daniel Amartey picked up two quick yellow cards

But the Foxes defied their numerical disadvantage to earn a point through Maguire after United missed chances to go 3-1 up

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Mata's heat map illustrates his busy night

No 11 Alrighton set up Maguire's late goal

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There is always a 'but', of course. But for Manchester United, this would be a perfectly reasonable opening half of the season. And but for some awful finishing and a chaotic last few minutes they would be coming away from Leicester with a full three points. Now that 13-point gap to their noisy neighbours, once an irritant yet now making a pitch to be one of the great teams, is a gigantic chasm. Throw in the Pep Guardiola factor, and this must feel unbearable.

Certainly that is how the manager seemed to read it on Saturday night. 'It is as bad as a defeat,' he said. 'Sometimes you take a point and you say "okay" and you accept it as it was hard to get a positive result. That is not the case. It is not easy to say we lost two points.

'We didn't win because missed incredible chances. I would say joke chances. We made a big defensive accumulation of mistakes. I talked to the players at half time when it was 1-1 that it was an easy match to win. Some players they have childish decisions and time helps them to have maturity and to decide better but some other players stay with childish decisions until the end of their career.'

It should be said that Leicester's injury-time equaliser was a thing of great beauty. A long, precise though slightly-desperate ball into the box by Marc Albrighton was met with a run and finish of exquisite timing by Maguire, who capped a lovely performance with his goal. For their endeavour and determination with 10 men, perhaps Leicester just about deserved it.

The Premier League game was a sell-out at the King Power Stadium and Leicester provided every home fan with a festive hat

Father Christmas was also in attendance to watch what was both Leicester and United's final fixture before December 25

United goalkeeper De Gea did not appear to be in the Christmas spirit after conceding the game's opening goal on 27 minutes

French midfielder Paul Pogba looked equally frustrated as Leicester's players celebrated Vardy's first-half strike behind him

Vardy's goal was assisted by Riyad Mahrez, who chased a through ball, held off Chris Smalling (right) and played a neat pass

Mahrez's contribution was acknowledged by Vardy, who hugged the Algerian ace during a group Leicester goal celebration

Yet United know they should have won this game comfortably. None more so than Jesse Lingard. On 72 minutes, Romelu Lukaku played a perfectly-timed pass for Lingard, who feinted past Kasper Schmeichel yet contrived to hit the post. That was presumably one of the 'joke chances' but equally there was Anthony Martial lifting a simple chance over the bar on 54 minutes.

Mourinho was so indignant about his players' inabilities he couldn't ever raise the energy to complain about the potential penalty Marcus Rashford might have won on 79 minutes when in collision with Schmeichel.

But this was a game wholly in the grip of United and certainly so from the 78th minute. That was when Daniel Amartey, who had only come on in the 57th minute, picked up his second booking and departed for a crude block on Rashford. It presumably wasn't the impact Claude Puel had in mind.

That United let the game slip was a relative catastrophe, though his players might retort that it was the manager who had brought on Ander Herrera to close the game out soon after the Lingard miss. 

In the King Power crowd, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus celebrated Vardy's goal, but their joy was short-lived

Mata hit back for United within less than a quarter of an hour - scoring his third goal in four games against Leicester

Swedish centre back Victor Lindelof congratulated Mata, who was making his 12th Premier League start of the season

United manager Jose Mourinho (right) watched on concerned as Leicester continued to test his team despite Mata's leveller

Christian Fuchs was presented with a great chance to put Leicester 2-1 up, but his drilled effort was blocked on the line

United broke up the other end where Martial fired over the bar after a fine pass from Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku

They had fallen behind to a goal of rare beauty, starting with the sheer coolness of Maguire, under pressure in his own box, finding Christian Fuchs with a calm pass. Fuchs fed the midfield who found Wilfred Ndidi who in turn saw the huge space United had allowed Riyad Mahrez and played in his team-mate with a delightful pass.

Mahrez slightly over-ran himself and appeared to have missed the chance as Smalling got back. But then, utterly in control amidst the chaos, he simply waited a split second for Jamie Vardy to join him. As Smalling hesitated, his brain seemingly scrambled by Mahrez's sheer poise, the Algerian rolled the ball into Vardy's path, who naturally scored with one touch.

United though had their own more considered attacking threat and responded on 38 minutes with a precise passing move involving Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial. The Frenchman's cross was deflected to Lingard who deftly touched it back to Mata who shot through a phalanx of players to equalise.

On the hour, United's moment came and it was Mata again, playing superbly, who provided. Sizing up a free-kick 20 yards out, he simply lifted the ball over a jumping defensive wall and managed to provide enough deftness to see it drop into the far corner of the net beyond a despairing Schmeichel.

It was a lovely moment. But it wasn't enough. And that might be a summary of the first half of the season: United are a lot better than they were. But they're still not good enough.

Mata made up for Martial's miss by scoring his second goal of the night — his fourth in as many games against the Foxes

Former Chelsea and Valencia playmaker Mata found the net with a well-hit free kick which whizzed past Kasper Schmeichel

Mata celebrated in front of a television camera as team-mates Ashley Young (centre) and Jesse Lingard (right) followed him

Leicester's hopes of a fightback were dampened when Ghanaian Amartey left the field less than 20 minutes after coming on

United kept Leicester interested though by missing a host of fine chances — Lingard was among the wasteful shooters

And Maguire punished United's wastefulness, much to the obvious delight of the army of hat-wearing Leicester supporters