Erik ten Hag's Manchester United resurrection project continues
DEADLY DUO: Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, left, celebrates with Jadon Sancho after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League game against Leicester City. Pic: AP Photo/Dave Thompson
It has taken a decade of frustrations and false dawns but, as Marcus Rashford took his tally for the season to a personal-best 24 goals with two in an ultimately routine win, Manchester United were left feeling that their club is back to the brink of competing with the very elite in the English game.
The feel good optimism is enhanced, of course, off the field by the expected imminent sale of their club and the severing of ties with the despised owners, the Glazer family.
But on it, they have rarely had it so good in the largely underwhelming decade since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Moyes, van Gaal, Mourinho, Solskjaer all came and went, without anything more than the occasional hint of answers, but Erik ten Hag has succeeded, so far at least, where they all failed.
Above all, he has resurrected the United careers of players such as Rashford, who has now scored more goals this season than in any of his career and Jadon Sancho, who was also on the scoresheet against Leicester.
Now, an EFL Cup final with Newcastle awaits on Sunday - the chance of a first trophy in six years - a home Europa League tie against Barcelona three days before that and, thanks to results over the past couple of weeks, United can consider themselves very much in the title race.
"We don't think about that, we think about tomorrow, we have to be a better version of ourselves and that is what we have to work for,” said ten Hag, predictably playing down title talk. “We are in February, don't look far ahead."
And this could have been a very different story but for another player who is enjoying a spectacular renaissance under ten Hag, goalkeeper David de Gea who made two stunning saves with the game scoreless, on his way to tying Peter Schmeichel’s club record with the 180th clean sheet of his career.
The opening goal was very much against the run of play, therefore, coming from a rare United attack, Bruno Fernandes’s through ball prompting Rashford into a perfectly-timed run, played on side by Harry Souttar, and the in-form forward beating the diving Danny Ward.
But without the rested Raphael Varane and suspended Casemiro, there was a fragility throughout the spine of the United team in the first half, 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.
“I was really unhappy with our performance, we have to follow our rules and principles of how we play and if we don’t, we’re going to be in a mess,” said ten Hag.
“We were really lucky at half-time, great goal but the rest was rubbish, and the players were disappointed. Today we needed David because it was a mess. They could do so much better but they’re not robots.”
The goal steadied United nerves although Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers correctly believed them fortunate to escape a red card after Marcel Sabitzer’s studs-up lunge at the knee of Wout Faes.
But the introduction of Sancho as a half-time substitute breathed new attacking life into the hosts, with Lisandro Martinez rattling the Leicester bar with a header from a Luke Shaw free-kick just three minutes after the restart.
And, on 56 minutes, Rashford doubled the lead, when Fred’s pass from inside the United half sent him 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, 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.
The two known bidders for United - British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani - each have potential drawbacks as new owners, although there was no hint of that as choruses of “Stand up if you hate Glazers” rang out around the stadium for most of the afternoon.
Whichever suitor takes control - if any indeed does - they will be inheriting a club in an infinitely healthier state on the field, thanks to ten Hag’s extraordinary efforts.
“We’re committed to this club, it’s our club, in our hearts,” said ten Hag. “But (the sale) is not our job. We’re focusing on football and the performance of our team, that’s what the players have to do, what the staff have to do.”
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).
Malacia, Varane, Heaton, Pellistri.
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).
Amartey, Daka, Pereira, Ndidi, Iversen.
S Attwell 6.
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