Leicester 0-3 Man United: Player ratings in another home defeat | OneFootball

Ruud van Nistelrooy's team hosted the struggling Red Devils at a ground we have struggled to do anything in: several defeats in a row at home really harming confidence. To have any chance of surviving in the Premier League, the Foxes need to turn the King Power into a fortress.

Instead, we saw a 0-3 rout of the King Power side. A failure to create any chances, a failure to defend in moments, and wastefulness upfront. In lieu of the match, here is a brief overview of how the game played out, and then our player ratings with a short explanation for each score given.

Leicester City v Manchester United Overview

During the first half, the Dutchman played the same starting XI as in the Chelsea tie. There were a few alterations we had suggested here to try and see improvements in passing the ball forward to break presses. However, with no changes, the first half saw more of the same from Leicester.

Our back three were broadly well-organised, pressed well, worked well with the defensive midfielders to get the ball out of defense, and with all three of them occasionally leaving the back line to support on the flanks or in the center with progression and retention, the only problem was one mistake. While massively out of position after conceding possession, Conor Coady left a massive gap to be filled by Boubakary Soumare and Wout Faes: the pair were not coordinated and led to the Reds goal.

The right flank was lethargic, poor, and did not move enough. Patson Daka did get better throughout the first half in linking up with Wilfred Ndidi and Bilal El Khannouss, but did start poorly in terms of collecting the ball and then doing nothing with it. James Justin was worse, incessantly slowing the game down. When the player did turn and run to work with Ndidi and Daka, the King Power side created their chances.

The second half started well for the Foxes, with Soumare, Ndidi, Thomas, and Daka doing well to press the opposition, retain the ball, and pass. Again though, a mistake in basically not pressing or following their man for both the second half Manchester United goals, and missing our own, leaves us in a terrible place. Nistelrooy made several changes, but none of them impacted the game.

Even with Facundo Buonanotte on, the right flank was wasteful with Justin and the Argentinian not linking up at all. 'Facu' missed our best chance of the game with a wasted low shot. 'Bouba' and Ndidi were our bright sparks, and Harry Winks was alright when coming on, but again made little impact with the wastefulness in the final third. Waste is the best word to describe the game.

The Danish goalkeeper was again our best player. That is saying something. Soumare and Ndidi were also excellent, but of course neither created a killer chance or took a chance themselves, so I would say Hermansen and Luke Thomas were the most impactful throughout the whole fixture. The English fullback has looked aggressive, passionate, and puts in a good challenge since the Chelsea tie.

Jordan Ayew did look bright when coming on, but with all of a few minutes played it really made little difference. Stephy Mavididi was a bit wasteful again, a little too lethargic so late into the game. I have also docked points from Coady, Ndidi, and Soumare for doing basically nothing for the second Manchester goal. Leicester City had to press, had to try and get in a blocking position, but a lack of awareness from the midfielders and defenders left both goalscorers with ample time to shoot.

I was a little shocked by how wasteful Buonanotte was, how inconsistent El Khannouss was, and how little the team did as a unit. When Leiester played as a team, passing quickly between us and involving Jamie Vardy, the Foxes created their best chances. Although, even with their best chances Nistelrooy's team cannot hit the target if the target was staring them in the face.