Leicester City Demystified With A 0-3 Spanking By Man United
Premier League champions Leicester are just one point above the relegation zone after defeat at home by Manchester United left them still searching for a first league win in 2017.
A dour opening half came to life just before the break when the visitors scored twice in two minutes.
First, Henrikh Mkhitaryan latched onto Chris Smalling’s flick-on and raced through on goal before beating Kasper Schmeichel with a clinical finish.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic then took advantage of terrible Leicester marking to side-foot home his 15th Premier League goal of the season.
Juan Mata ensured there was no way back for the hosts when he finished off a one-two with Mkhitaryan early in the second half.
Leicester never looked like scoring, with their only shot on target a tame Wilfred Ndidi strike just before half-time.
Manchester United remain in the hunt for a top-four finish. They are sixth, one point behind Liverpool and two behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
Jose Mourinho was in charge of Chelsea the last time he visited the King Power Stadium. That was in December 2015 and he was sacked the day after a defeat that strengthened Leicester’s title charge.
This time it is Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri who is under pressure. Far from defending their title, they are very much in a relegation dogfight and went into Sunday’s game looking to record their first league win since New Year’s Eve.
A pacy attack of Ahmed Musa and Jamie Vardy promised much but ultimately offered little, the latter in particular a shadow of the striker who scored in 11 consecutive Premier League games last season.
The Foxes have now failed to score a league goal in five games this year, but of equal concern for Ranieri will have been his side’s defending. Ibrahimovic was left unmarked to poke home Manchester United’s second and then Wes Morgan played two players onside for the third.
Leicester have not won away all season in the league, so it is their home form that has kept them out of the drop zone so far – 18 of their 21 points have been collected at the King Power Stadium.
This defeat, though, was their third in six home games and Ranieri will need to get things back on track quickly if the Foxes are to avoid being the first reigning top-flight champions to be relegated since Manchester City in 1938.
