Marcus Rashford's double helps Manchester United see off Leicester

ON THE DOUBLE: Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, centre, scores his side's second goal during the Premier League match against Leicester City. Pic: AP Photo/Dave Thompson

MAN UNITED 3 LEICESTER 0

Two goals from Marcus Rashford were the highlight of another United victory as he took his tally for the season to 24 and kept his club in touch with the Premier League title race.

The identity of the club’s new owners may have dominated talk around Old Trafford over the weekend but, on the field, the enormous strides being taken under Erik ten Hag continued in a victory that also saw Jadon Sancho on the scoresheet.

Rashford’s opening goal - his 23rd of a season which is now his most productive ever - came completely against the run of play.

And Brendan Rodgers would have been forgiven for wondering how his team was not in front by the time the United striker shot his team ahead after 25 minutes.

The simple answer was the performance of United keeper David de Gea, who kept his side in the game before the opener.

When it came, from a rare United attack, Bruno Fernandes’s through ball prompted Rashford into a perfectly-timed run, played on side by Harry Souttar, and the in-form forward beat the diving Danny Ward.

But without the rested Raphael Varane and suspended Casemiro, there was a fragility throughout the spine of the United team, one that Leicester looked well capable of exploiting.

Among numerous chances, two stood out and showed that de Gea is still at the peak of his powers.

After eight minutes, Harvey Barnes played a clever one-two with Kelechi Iheanacho and was clean through on de Gea only for the keeper to make a superb reflex save.

And, even better, Timothy Castagne sprinted down the right just before the opening goal and crossed for Iheanacho whose goal bound header was somehow kept out, one-handed, by the United number one.

The goal steadied United nerves and the hosts should have been further in front before the interval when Bruno Fernandes crossed for an unmarked Diogo Dalot who mis-kicked completely just six yards out.

United still looked susceptible, and the latest in a series of poor passes by Fred opened up an opportunity from which James Maddison narrowly missed, shooting just wide.

But the introduction of Jadon Sancho as a half-time substitute breathed new attacking life into United with Lisandro Martinez rattling the Leicester bar with a header from a Luke Shaw free-kick just three minutes after the restart.

Rashford set off on another of his dangerous runs, this one ending in a shot which Ward kept out with a sprawling block.

But he would not be denied on 56 minutes, when Fred’s pass from inside the United half send the speedy Rashford chasing ahead of the Leicester defence before coolly beating Ward from 12 yards.

There required a lengthy VAR check before the goal was confirmed but the first of his goals, let alone the second, marked the most Rashford has ever scored in a season in his professional career, with the month of February still far from over, and the double made it 16 in 17 games since the World Cup break.

United were now in full flow and Sancho got in on the act on 61 minutes when he received a pass from Rashford, exchanged the ball with Fernandes and slotted home confidently past Ward.

There should have been many more goals in the one-way traffic over the final half-hour - Sancho wasting a glorious chance when clean through yet again and Wout Weghorst guilty of two glaring misses; heading just wide from a free-kick and hitting a shot straight at Ward when put in by Sancho.

Man United (4-2-3-1): De Gea 8; Dalot 5, Lindelof 5, Martinez 6, Shaw 7 (Wan-Bissaka 68, 6); Sabitzer 7 (Mainoo 80), Fred 6 (McTominay 58, 6); Fernandes 7, Weghorst 6, Garnacho 5 (Sancho 45, 7); Rashford 9 (Elanga 68, 6). 

Substitutes (not used): Malacia, Varane, Heaton, Pellistri.

Leicester (4-2-3-1): Ward 5; Castagne 8, Souttar 7, Faes 5, Kristiansen 5; Mendy 5 (Soumare 59, 6), Dewsbury-Hall 5 (Tielemans 59, 6); Tete 6 (Praet 75, 5), Maddison 7, Barnes 7; Iheanacho 7 (Vardy 75, 5). 

Substitutes (not used): Amartey, Daka, Pereira, Ndidi, Iversen.

Referee: S Attwell 6.