While we rang the Manchester United death knell and witnessed as the club bore the skeletons of their proverbial dead (Wayne Rooney taking a spot on the bench for this match), the Red Devils conspired to play out 20 minutes of sensational football — the likes of which haven’t been seen at Old Trafford since the Alex Ferguson days.
Paul Pogba was imperial. Marcus Rashford continued his blistering start to the season and Wayne Rooney’s demotion was entirely vindicated. The champions were simply outclassed.
Demarai Gray’s 59th minute goal was the only consolation for a Leicester side that will immediately turn its focus to Wednesday’s Champions League encounter with FC Porto.
Don't call it a comeback! Gray gets the Foxes on the board with a stunning strike. 4-1 #PLonNBC https://t.co/afDvvt94KT
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) September 24, 2016
While all signs point towards an exciting European campaign for the Foxes, they’ve already accumulated as many losses as they experienced in the entirety of their championship-winning campaign, three.
Leicester City’s domestic form is cause for concern, but all credit must go to Manchester United and their 20 minutes of footballing ecstasy. Beginning with Chris Smalling’s 22nd minute header, Leicester found themselves down 4-0 by the 42nd.
GOAL! @ChrisSmalling puts @ManUtd up on the Foxes 1-0! #PLonNBC https://t.co/mJu3pNIxGJ
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) September 24, 2016
After Smalling, Juan Mata, Rashord and Pogba each added their name to the boxscore as United rampaged through the Leicester defense.
Tic-Tac-Toe! Mata scores a brilliant goal with the help of his @ManUtd teammates. 2-0 #PLonNBC https://t.co/yREuVnjgYD
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) September 24, 2016
To belabor the significance of this defeat for Leicester, ceding four goals in one match amounts to over 10% of the total goals they allowed last season.
The only disappointment for United fans is Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s inability to add to the party mood in Manchester. The Swede was a menace throughout and came close on a number of occasions but couldn’t add a goal of his own.
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