Key events
Hojlund was sent through by Fernandes (who else?). He took a couple of touches and calmly slotted the ball into the far corner with his weaker foot, his right. It’s his first league goal since United lost at home to Forest before Christmas. And his best shot since then too.
GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Man United (HOJLUND 28)
The drought is over!
27 min A glimmer for Leicester! Daka is in behind and Heaven has to get his tackle just right. He manages it.
26 min Just before that, a fine cross came in from Noussair Mazraoui on the right, but Hojlund took a backward step when the tap-in was calling to him.
24 min Woodwork! Eriksen takes a corner, plays a one-two with Fernandes and curls a long shot into the far post. His hair may be thinning, but he still has a full head of nous.
22 min Luke Thomas curls in a classy free kick, but De Ligt (I think) gets his head to it and the flag is up anyway.
20 min Daka wins a free kick from Lindelof, on account of a high boot. Leicester have had only a third of the possession, but they haven’t looked at all uncomfortable.
18 min Vardy sneaks in behind Lindelof, who is bailed out by Onana.
“Don’t you think,” says Tim Stappard, “considering it’s Leicester and considering the get-out-of-jail-free card the Europa League is to Utd, Amorim might have rested Dalot and Bruno?”
With Dalot, they don’t have a spare wing-back because of Patrick Dorgu’s suspension (and Amad’s injury). With Bruno, Amorim is brave, but I’m not sure he’s brave enough to says “Skipper, you’re rested.”
14 min Another neat set of passes from United, until Dalot overhits a cross. He’s a good team player but he seems forever surprised by his own strength.
12 min United having more of the ball. Fernandes’ cross from the right finds Dalot, who can’t quite flick the ball back to the waiting Eriksen.
11 min Ugarte tries another punt from distance, no better than the first. That was a shame because United had progressed from front to back very smoothly, helped by a knock-down from Hojlund.
9 min Ugarte wins the ball on the edge of the box and tries a long shot, which only bothers the fans behind the goal.
7 min United get in the Leicester box without really threatening. And then Ayden Heaven, the precocious centre-back making his first PL start, gives away a foul, but Leicester can’t do much with the free kick.
5 min One reason why I like watching these two teams face each other is that they both get to wear the right colours. Leicester are in blue, obviously, and United in their usual red, albeit with white socks.
3 min Chance! For Jamie Vardy, finding a yard in the inside-left channel. Lindelof does well to shrink the space and Vardy’s shot goes wide.
2 min Dalot’s throw reaches Hojlund, who twists and shoots with his left foot – just wide. That’s one more shot than he has had in quite a few games this season.
1 min We’re off! And United have a chance to put a long throw into the box.
As both teams go into their huddles, Bruno Fernandes is making a point quite forcefully. “Guys! I can’t score all the goals!”
An email! “Good to see Mason Mount back on the bench,” says Dean Kinsella. “If he could find his old international form he could be very important for Kobbie Mainoo. So many short passes have been going astray in the midfield especially since Mainoo has been out. Mount might be the guy to knit it all together.”
Manchester United come into this game with an unfamiliar feeling. They can look back on their last performance with great satisfaction.
Against Real Sociedad on Thursday, they weren’t flawless (until the 87th minute, they led only by virtue of some over-zealous refereeing), but by the end they were dominant. And the word “electrified” was even used.
Rasmus Højlund and Alejandro Garnacho have both gone 20 games without scoring, but they both got assists in that game and it feels as if a goal is just around the corner. Garnacho always finds a way to shoot. Højlund doesn’t, but when he teed up Diogo Dalot for United’s fourth, he celebrated as if they’d won the Europa League. When he finally scores, he may well explode.
United now have the chance to do something that has been beyond them all season and Go On a Run. But it would not exactly be out of character for them to stumble tonight.
And they’ve done it! Despite conceding in the 95th minute.
Meanwhile, at Wembley, Newcastle are about seven minutes away from winning their first trophy in 70 years. Do join John Brewin to see if they can do it.
Teams in full
Leicester (3-4-2-1) Hermansen; Coady, Faes, Thomas; Justin, Ndidi, Soumaré, Kristiansen; Daka, El Khannouss; Vardy.
Subs: Stolarczyk, Okoli, Coulibaly, Winks, Buonanotte, Mavididi, McAteer, De Cordova-Reid, Ayew.
Manchester United (3-4-2-1) Onana; De Ligt, Lindelof, Heaven; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Fernandes, Dalot; Garnacho, Eriksen; Højlund.
Subs: Harrison, Mee, Fredricson, Amass, Casemiro, Collyer, Mount, Zirkzee, Obi.
Teams in brief: Leicester unchanged
Ruud keeps faith with the XI that lost only narrowly at Stamford Bridge, so it’s the battle of the back threes.
Teams in brief: Ugarte and Eriksen start
For United, Manuel Ugarte is back from injury to replace Casemiro, who was “very tired”, according to Amorim, after having his best spell of the season. Christian Eriksen comes in for Joshua Zirkzee as the left-sided No 10, and Mason Mount is back on the bench after a long lay-off.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to the last Premier League match of this month. If you’re an addict, you’re about to go cold Tuchel.
Tonight’s game is at 7pm, expertly timed to infuriate the travelling fan and not much better for the season-ticket holder with young children. It’s the fourth Van Nistelrooy derby of the season, but the first at the King Power. United won the other three – 5-2, 3-0, 2-1 – so at least Leicester’s defenders have got better at coping with them. On the third occasion, in the FA Cup, Leicester were beaten only by a header from Harry Maguire that was (a) in Fergie time and (b) blatantly offside.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has been in the technical area for all four of these games, two on each side. Ruben Amorim – whose first act as United manager was to get rid of Ruud – has only faced Leicester in the cup. In the league, both managers have made their teams worse. Amorim has five wins in 17 PL games, Van Nistelrooy two in 15 with Leicester – after being unbeaten in four games in all competitions, and oozing authority, as United’s stopgap manager.
Entertaining as the United soap opera is, tonight is more about whether Leicester can turn the tide. In their past five league games, it’s been Leicester 0, The Rest 13. They used up far too many goals on 11 January, when they beat QPR 6-2: since then, they haven’t scored at home. Their chances of staying up are 1 per cent according to Opta. The only way it can happen is if they collect 10 more points than Wolves.
Leicester’s next four opponents are Man City, Newcastle, Brighton and Liverpool, so they simply have to win tonight, then beat one of that lot (Newcastle, at a pinch?), hope Wolves get only one point from their next four games (West Ham home, Ipswich away, Spurs home, Man U away), and win the showdown between the two at the King Power on 3 May. That would leave Leicester a mere point adrift with home games against Southampton and Ipswich to come. It may be a faint hope, but it’s the only one they’ve got.
