Manchester United won 2-1 victory over Leicester City in the opening match of the 2018/2019 Premier League at the Old Trafford Stadium on Friday (10/8).
Man United entertain Leicester by playing Paul Pogba with Fred and Andres Pereira in midfield. Pogba, who did not take part in the pre-season session, immediately got a minute to play after success in the 2018 World Cup with France.
Similar to Pogba at Man United, Leicester also played Harry Maguire as a general in the defense area despite not joining the team long enough after defending England in the World Cup.
Man United got a penalty when the game was not even running for two minutes because Daniel Amartey’s handsball in the penalty box. Pogba, who was the executor from white point, successfully completed the task and took the hosts 1-0. Leicester, who have been trying to suppress Man United’s defense since the beginning of the fight, are again pressing after failing behind.
Excelled in possession, Leicester struggled to create a golden opportunity. Only in the 29th minute kick from inside the penalty box released by James Maddison forced David De Gea to do a brilliant save with one hand.
Leicester continued to make Man United depressed. Possession ball of Leicester was powerful enough to make Man United players unable to get out of their own defense area. Towards the end of the first half, Jose Mourinho’s men were able to get out of the pressure and create a shot on goal through Pogba and Luke Shaw. Man United who lost possession managed to maintain a slim lead until halftime.
Early in the second half Man United tried to be more active in attacking. Leicester’s desire to control the match for an equalizer made the game more fierce in the second half. To add to the power of banging, in the 63rd minute Claude Puel included Jamie Vardy and Rachid Ghezzal replacing Amartey and Maddison. While four minutes later, Mourinho replaced Marcus Rashford with Romelu Lukaku.
Both teams often have difficulty passing the ball to the opponent’s defense area. Until in the 75th minute Leicester got a golden opportunity again but successfully anticipated by De Gea. Two minutes later it was Kasper Schmeichel’s turn to save the goal from Romelu Lukaku’s chance. The Danish Goalkeeper made the right and most careful decision in a split second to close the gap between his legs when facing one on one with the Belgian striker. The ball soared past the goal.
Entering the 83rd minute the second goal for Man United was born from the feet of Luke Shaw. Receiving ball from Juan Mata, Shaw made a small touch to pass Ricardo Pereira and finish the opportunity with his left foot into the visitors’ goal.
When the game entered injury time, Vardy managed to reduce Leicester’s deficit by utilizing Pereira’s sending ball to hit the goal post. A 2-1 score for Man United is the final result of the Premier League 2018/2019 opening match.
