By Goal.com News on Tuesday, 11 May 2021
Category: Goal.com News

LIVE: Manchester United vs Leicester

Leicester made a good start to the contest and took a deserved lead through Thomas. However, they lost belief after United's equaliser and were unable to test David de Gea. Brendan Rodgers' side need a results tonight to ease their top-four worries and to take momentum into the FA Cup final at the weekend.

It's all square at the break in the Premier League clash between Manchester United and Leicester City at Old Trafford. The visitors took the lead through a fine strike on the volley from Luke Thomas. United responded through Mason Greenwood with a good run and finish to level the scores. Both sides struggled with their composure from that point onwards, and a massive improvement will be required in the second half.

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 1-1 LEICESTER CITY

45' + 2' BLOCK! Tielemans lines up a strike from the free-kick, but he drills his effort straight into the wall before the referee ends the first half.

45' + 1' Diallo brings down Ndidi on the edge of the United box with a late lunge. Leicester have a great opportunity from the resulting free-kick before the break.

45' There will be one minute of added time.

44' There is a lack of composure out on the pitch from both teams. Perez epitomises the issue as he sends a loose offload into the left-inside channel for Vardy that is intercepted by Van de Beek.

42' Iheanacho turns and runs at the United defence. He tries to thread the needle to release Vardy, but he just overhits his pass and Tuanzebe gets ahead of the Leicester forward to usher it back to De Gea. Vardy shoves Tuanzebe in the back anyway and gives away a free-kick.

39' Tielemans turns in the Leicester half and is brought down by Matic. The United midfielder avoids a booking for the challenge.

37' Matic sends a first-time ball over the top for Greenwood to chase. Soyuncu has to make an inch-perfect challenge and he succeeds on the slide, clearing it out for a throw-in.

35' Matic takes a neat touch out from the back to send United forward. Telles collects in space, but he fails to release Elanga in space down the left flank.

33' Vardy applies pressure to De Gea in possession, but the Spaniard just manages to clear his lines as the forward closes in. The United keeper has to be careful in these conditions.

31' Both teams have been a tad passive in the final third. There is heavy rain at Old Trafford, which is making life a tad difficult for accurate passing in tight quarters.

29' Iheanacho tries to scoop the ball over the top, but Vardy checks his run at the wrong moment and is powerless in seeing it trickle through to De Gea.

27' De Gea has to be alert as Tielemans' cross towards Iheanacho travels towards goal rather than the forward. The United keeper backpedals and turns the ball over the bar.

25' Elanga makes a good run in behind the Leicester defence, but Fofana spots his movement and edges out the United winger in the final third.

23' Vardy breaks in behind the United defence to latch on to Thomas' throughball. He sends a cutback into the middle for Iheanacho, but Tuanzebe is alert to clear the danger for the home side.

22' Only four Premier League players have scored more league goals as a teenager than Greenwood (17) -- Michael Owen (40), Robbie Fowler (35), Wayne Rooney (30), Nicolas Anelka (19).

19' United have found their confidence after the equaliser and are forcing the Foxes back amid their press of the Red Devils' backline.

17' Two teenagers have scored in a Premier League game for the first time since December 2019, also at Old Trafford - Longstaff for Newcastle, Greenwood for Manchester United.

15' Perez wins the ball in the United half and offloads towards Iheanacho. The forward hesitates for a second and fails to pull the trigger before being forced backwards by the United defence.

12' Thomas is the the 10th teenager to score a Premier League goal at Old Trafford, and first since Matty Longstaff in December 2019.

11' United give the ball away on the edge of the box to Iheanacho, but he fails to release Vardy in the box as he produces a loose offload.

8' CHANCE! Vardy tries to latch on to a low cross from Albrighton towards the near post. Elanga gets a deflection on to the delivery that prevents the Leicester forward guiding a backheel towards goal, allowing De Gea to collect.

7' Telles is back on his feet and returns to the field for the home side.

6' Matic concedes a corner on the right flank, which allows Albrighton to whip a cross into the box. Telles rises to clear the danger, but he takes a blow to the head from Ndidi in the process.

3' It has been a slow start to the game as United have worked the ball around the back without advancing into the Leicester half.

1' We're under way at Old Trafford.

Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League matches against Leicester City (W8 D4) since losing 5-3 in September 2014 under Louis van Gaal.

Rodgers has made only two changes to his side that was beaten by Newcastle in their last outing. Maddison drops to the bench and is replaced by Perez in the final third. Ricardo also makes way for Thomas, which sees Albrighton move to right wing-back. Former United defender Jonny Evans is still missing due to injury.

Only Greenwood retains his place in the United line-up from their win over Villa last time out. Solskjaer responds to his side's hectic fixture schedule by making 10 changes. Elanga and Diallo are handed their first Premier League starts for the Red Devils in the final third, while Mata also supports Greenwood. De Gea gets the start between the posts in front of Williams, Bailly, Tuanzebe and Telles. Matic and Van de Beek occupy the defensive midfield spots.

LEICESTER CITY SUBS: James Maddison, Danny Ward, Daniel Amartey, Hamza Choudhury, Ricardo Pereira, Nampalys Mendy, Dennis Praet, Christian Fuchs, Tawanda Maswanhise.

LEICESTER CITY (3-4-3): Kasper Schmeichel; Timothy Castagne, Wesley Fofana, Caglar Soyuncu; Marc Albrighton, Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, Luke Thomas; Kelechi Iheanacho, Ayoze Perez, Jamie Vardy.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS: Victor Lindelof, Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw, Dean Henderson, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Scott McTominay.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Brandon Williams, Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe, Alex Telles; Donny van de Beek, Nemanja Matic; Amad Diallo, Juan Mata, Anthony Elanga; Mason Greenwood.

Leicester suffered a damaging defeat to Newcastle United last time out to threaten their Champions League hopes. The Foxes suffered a 4-2 defeat on home soil, although the scoreline flattered Brendan Rodgers' men to some degree. Leicester were in a similar position last season and missed out on the top four. They cannot afford to make the same mistake in back-to-back campaigns, while the FA Cup final looms at the weekend.

Manchester United prevented their rivals Manchester City from lifting the Premier League crown by beating Aston Villa 3-1 last time out. The Red Devils went behind to a strike from Bertrand Traore, but second-half goals from Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani delivered the three points. It has been a quick turnaround for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men and it will be a challenge for them to maintain their form with Liverpool also on the horizon in 48 hours.

Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the Premier League clash between Manchester United and Leicester City at Old Trafford.

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