5 positives to take from Manchester United's win over Leicester City
Arguably the toughest, and undoubtedly the most viewed league on the planet kicked off with a clash between two former champions, as 20 time winners Manchester United took on 2015-16 winners Leicester City.
The Red Devils emerged victorious after a feisty encounter which saw them defeat The Foxes 2-1 at Old Trafford, courtesy goals from 2018 FIFA World Cup winner Paul Pogba and left-back Luke Shaw.
There were plenty of conclusions to draw from Manchester United's league opener. They took the lead early in the third minute via Pogba's penalty, but then couldn't maintain their grasp on the game, and allowed Leicester to dictate the play, although they never looked like scoring.
This typical Mourinho approach has been criticized time and again by fans and pundits alike as United have allowed the opponent to take control after taking the lead, even at home. This doesn't go down well with United fans who were accustomed to see their team dominate during Ferguson's era.
It has been 5 years now since United's last title, desperation is now growing among the fans, and the pressure is now on Mourinho to deliver the title at Old Trafford. The new season starts with renewed hopes, and we are now in a position to analyze the result of their first game, as well as draw conclusions from this match which can go on to shape the season.
#5 Lindelof and Bailly partnership
These two center backs were signed by Mourinho himself, and he finally gave a league start to the pair together for the first time, and the partnership proved to be quite successful as they kept Leicester's pacy attack at bay for much of the match, aside the singular lapse in concentration towards the end of the match.
Lindelof wasn't afforded the game time he would have liked last season, and after transfer speculation linking him with a move away from Old Trafford, he has started off where he left off in a stellar World Cup campaign, and rarely put a wrong foot throughout the match.
Bailly looks refreshed after a summer at home, and it looks like this pairing could be United's first choice center-back pairing for the campaign, and a successful title bid can be built on this base if they perform the way they did against Leicester.