Manchester United rebounded after back-to-back losses in the Premier League with an emphatic 4-1 win over Leicester City.
The hosts put the game beyond the reach of the Foxes as goals from Chris Smalling, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba gave the Red Devils a 4-0 half-time lead. Substitute Demarai Gray pulled one back for the champions in the latter stages.
Manchester United
David De Gea – 6: A bystander for much of the match, but was on hand when required. Will be disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet.
Antonio Valencia – 7: Set the tone for United’s attacking play early with his darting runs forward and continued to make himself a constant threat.
Eric Bailly – 7.5: Yet another strong performance from the summer arrival, commanding at the back and kept things simple throughout the match.
Chris Smalling – 6: Did the things he had to in a no fuss outing from the English international, opening the scoring for his side.
Daley Blind – 7: Worked the set-pieces and passed the ball well out from the back, playing it in-behind the defence.
Ander Herrera – 7: A strong performance from Herrera. While he was not the star of the show he did his job on a terrific level.
Paul Pogba – 8.5: A return to form from the world record signing. Controlled the tempo of the game, showing a great passing ability. Will also be glad to have opened his scoring account.
Marcus Rashford – 6.5: Looked dangerous with the ball at his feet and caused headaches for Danny Simpson. Got his goal after a well worked corner routine.
Juan Mata – 7.5: Installed in the No.10 role for Wayne Rooney and he did not let his team down, providing a creative presence with a goal and an assist.
Jesse Lingard – 6: A much more improved performance after his Derby nightmare. Showed good pressing and energy, providing a deft touch for Mata’s goal.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 6: Not the greatest of games for the Swede and will be disappointed not to have got on the scoresheet.
Substitutes
Michael Carrick- 6: Did his job to come into the contest and slow down the pace.
Wayne Rooney: N/A: Not enough time to make an impact.
Ashley Young: N/A: Substituted on with only minutes remaining.
Leicester City
Ron-Robert Zieler- 5: When the ball hits the back of the net four times as a goalkeeper it has been a bad day, a victim of some poor defending.
Danny Simpson- 5: Struggled against Rashford and gave away a number of fouls, but did hold his own in the physical battle.
Wes Morgan- 6: Solid performance from the skipper, but will quickly be looking to galvanise his troops ahead of this week’s Champions League match.
Robert Huth- 5: Questions surround his marking of Smalling for the opening goal and picked up a yellow card in the second-half for a poor tackle.
Christian Fuchs- 5.5: Worked as hard as ever, pushing forward on a number of occasions but lacked the final product.
Riyad Mahrez- 5.5: Substituted at half-time after a limited impact. Was well marshalled by Blind as United put the Foxes to the sword in the first half.
Daniel Amartey- 5: Allowed too much room to the like of Pogba and Herrera which made it all the more difficult for the champions.
Marc Albrighton- 5.5: Had a number of opportunities to get the ball into the box, but failed to make an impact before being substituted early in the second half.
Islam Slimani- 5.5: Saw limited opportunities, but worked hard in the second half as a lone striker.
Jamie Vardy- 5: Starved of service in the opening stage and very rarely had the ball at his feet, with Claudio Ranieri withdrawing him at half-time.
Substitutes
Andy King-6: Had some nice moments after coming on at the break, yet missed a big opportunity to score a second goal.
Demarai Gray- 7: Leicester’s best player with a strong second half, scored a delightful goal to cap it off.
Jeffrey Schlupp- 6: Not bad and not great, but did add another wide threat.
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