5 areas of concern for Manchester United following their 2-1 win over Leicester City
In their first Premier League game of the season, Manchester United faced Leicester City at Old Trafford. Starting with a 4-3-3 formation, United played De Gea in goal and Darmian, Bailly, Lindelof, and Shaw in defense.
Fred started his first game at Old Trafford alongside Pereira and Pogba, who captained United on the night, as the three in a dynamic midfield. Ahead of them, Sanchez and Mata started on either side of Rashford, who played as the main striker.
It was United’s strongest team from the players available for selection. Interestingly, Martial and Lukaku started from the bench, both options for Mourinho if he wanted to change things later on.
United took the lead through Pogba, who scored his first Premier League goal of the 2018/19 season from the penalty spot. United then doubled their lead through a fine strike from Luke Shaw.
Leicester pulled one back in the injury time when Vardy capitalized on a defensive lapse to put pressure on United toward the end of the game. However, United held on to their lead and gained their first 3 points of the season.
Even with the win, United did have a few concerns from the game. We take a look at five such areas of improvement, which Mourinho must address before the away game against Brighton and Hove Albion next Sunday.
#5 Darmian was poor
Matteo Darmian played at right back for United against Leicester City, in the absence of Valencia. He made 2 interceptions, the highest among the defenders, and also had an attempt on goal.
However, those were his only high points in the game. He was regularly bullied by Gray and looked like the only weak spot in an otherwise assured defense. He had to attempt 5 tackles, the highest in his team because Gray was easily brushing him aside.
Bailly had to bail him out a couple of times and Darmian also committed a foul, the only foul by a United defender in the game. He also registered the least clearances among the defenders – just three.
Darmian really needs to step up his game before Sunday. He needs to join the attack more often and also get his positioning and placement right. He is not blessed with pace and as such, needs to work on his technique to ensure he is not caught off-guard.