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Manchester United stunned by Leicester City in eight-goal thriller Manchester United stunned by Leicester City in eight-goal thriller
(about 4 hours later)
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Football, bloody hell. It was difficult to think of anything other than that famous Sir Alex Ferguson quote to sum up a truly remarkable match. From being 2-0 ahead early and 3-1 up with less than half an hour remaining, Manchester United conceded five times on a chastening day when they were run ragged by Jamie Vardy a striker who, almost three years ago to the day, was sent off for Fleetwood Town in a Conference game against Kidderminster Harriers. Football, bloody hell. It was difficult to think of anything other than the famous Sir Alex Ferguson quote to sum up an extraordinary match that delivered a famous Leicester City victory and ended with Manchester United making history for all the wrong reasons. This was the first time in 853 Premier League matches United have surrendered a two-goal lead and lost. Just let that statistic soak in for a minute.
By the time the fourth official signalled that there would be six minutes of added time, Leicester’s supporters were chanting “we want six” and Louis van Gaal was wearing the haunted expression of man who could not believe what had unfolded in front of him. Once upon a time United were famed for their own acts of escapology but nothing is quite how it used to be. There was something surreal about seeing United, from a position of total control when Ander Herrera made it 3-1 just before the hour mark, totally lose their way. United conceded four times in 21 chaotic second-half minutes on a day when a former non-league striker ran their defence ragged.
A £150m summer spending spree has delivered a galáctico forward line for United but somebody forget to mention the defence could do with a helping hand. United were a shambles at the back. Leicester, to their immense credit, took full advantage. Jamie Vardy, who was playing for Stocksbridge Park Steels four years ago, in the eighth tier of English football, had the game of his life. The Leicester forward set up the first, won two penalties and scored the fourth. He even had a hand in Leicester’s other goal, when Dean Hammond’s shot struck him and bounced kindly for Esteban Cambiasso, on his first Premier League start, to make it 3-3. The Argentinian celebrated the goal as if it meant as much to him as any he scored for Internazionale.
A humiliating defeat finished with United playing out the final seven minutes with 10 men after Tyler Blackett brought down Vardy just as the Leicester striker prepared to pull the trigger. Leonardo Ulloa, who had scored Leicester’s first, made it five in as many games when he converted from the spot. At that stage it was United, not Leicester, facing an exercise in damage limitation – a scenario no one could have imagined when the visitors raced into a two-goal lead, including a peach of a goal from Angel di María, early on. In the eyes of the United players, Leicester’s first penalty, which was converted by David Nugent, was the turning point and should never have come about. Wayne Rooney was still protesting after the final whistle, the England captain furious Mark Clattenburg had penalised Rafael da Silva for a foul on Vardy, when the Leicester forward had barged into the United full-back seconds earlier.
Radamel Falcao, showing all his experience and class, created the first. Ritchie De Laet got too tight to the Colombian, who expertly used his body to roll the United defender before sprinting clear on the left flank. With no Leicester defender in sight, Falcao had the time to float a perfectly weighted left-footed centre that picked out Robin van Persie, whose far-post header deflected off the shoulder of Liam Moore and beat Kasper Schmeichel at the near post. Louis van Gaal refused to point the finger at Clattenburg and instead blamed his players. Even if the penalty was soft, the United manager felt Da Silva was inviting trouble when he challenged Vardy in the area. Van Gaal also made the point that, with United still 3-2 ahead, his players had no reason to hit the panic button and should have been able to dominate possession and see out the game. That they were unable to do so against a promoted club rubbed salt into the wound.
Three minutes later United doubled their lead. David Nugent lost possession inside his own half and from that point on Di María took over. A burst of pace took him into the Leicester half, where he found Rooney in space. Continuing his run Di María sprinted ont o Rooney’s pass and, with Schmeichel coming off his line, executed an outrageous chip from just inside the area. It would be a difficult skill to pull off at any time, let alone running at pace. The mind went back to that wonderful Karel Poborsky goal at Euro 96. It was, all in all, a chastening experience for United. By the time Leonardo Ulloa had made it 5-3 from the penalty spot, after Tyler Blackett was sent off for a professional foul on Vardy, the Leicester supporters were singing “we want six” and cheering every pass.
At that point Leicester looked like they would be blown away by United’s firepower but they responded straight from the kick-off. There seemed little danger when De Laet played a long ball into the right channel but Marcos Rojo was caught on his heels as Vardy nipped in front of him to bring the ball down on the run and turn away from the United left-back. With space running out for Vardy close to the byline – television replays showed the ball may well have been out – the Leicester forward dug out a superb centre that the unmarked Ulloa met with a thumping header from 12 yards. Evans was caught in no man’s land, marking space, and limped off soon afterwards. At that point Radamel Falcao and Ángel di María, who had executed a glorious chip to put United 2-0 ahead early on, were watching from the bench, after being withdrawn with the score at 3-3. As impressive as Falcao and Di María were at times as part of United’s galactico forward line, it still feels like a huge oversight that no one at Old Trafford thought to make strengthening central defence a priority when £150m was splurged in the summer.
Buoyed by that goal, Leicester gave as good as they got for the remainder of the first half but were undone again 12 minutes after the restart. Schmeichel, who could only stand and watch when Falcao’s volley sailed over his head and hit the crossbar moments earlier, was at full-stretch to get his hands to Rafael da Silva’s cross. Retrieving the loose ball, Van Persie teed up Di Maria for a poorly hit shot that Ander Herrera, with a lovely piece of improvisation, flicked past the wrong-footed Schmeichel. Enough of United’s shortcomings. Leicester deserve huge praise for having the fortitude to twice come back from two goals down. Nigel Pearson was bold enough to go man-for-man with United, with the Leicester manager opting for a midfield diamond in which the experienced Cambiasso sat at the base and showed some lovely touches. Further forward Vardy’s aggressive running caused United no end of problems, especially on the flanks, where neither Da Silva nor Marcos Rojo looked comfortable.
That looked to be that but Leicester refused to surrender and, remarkably, within seven minutes of that Herrera goal they were level. The first of those goals was hugely contentious. Vardy, foraging in the inside left channel, was looking at the man and not the ball when he barged into Da Silva. Mark Clattenburg, however, waved play on and there was a sense of inevitability about what would happen next. Trying to recover, Da Silva tangled with Vardy and the Leicester striker tumbled to the ground. It looked soft but Clattenburg pointed to the spot and Nugent, drilling his kick straight down the middle, did the rest. Not that anyone could have predicted what would happen when United raced into a two-goal lead inside 16 minutes. Falcao, making his first start for United, created the first, expertly rolling Ritchie de Laet before delivering a perfect cross for Robin van Persie to head home, via a deflection off Liam Moore, at the far post. Three minutes later it was 2-0 when Di María exchanged passes with Rooney before delightfully lifting the ball over the stranded Kasper Schmeichel. Think Karel Poborsky at Euro 96.
United were all over the place and two minutes later Leicester levelled when Dean Hammond’s shot struck Vardy and Esteban Cambiasso, making his first Premier League start, drilled home from 14 yards. Then the unthinkable happened as De Laet robbed Juan Mata, who was on for Di María, and broke on the right before sending Vardy clear. One on one with David de Gea, Vardy calmly slotted home to make it 4-3. Blackett’s clumsy foul on Vardy allowed Ulloa to make it five from the spot. Leicester looked like they would be blown away by United’s firepower but, to their credit, they got back in the game straight from the kick-off. With Rojo caught on his heels, Vardy nipped in front of the left-back and got to the byline – the ball looked perilously close to being out – before digging out a superb cross for Ulloa to emphatically head home. Jonny Evans was caught in no man’s land, marking space, and limped off soon afterwards.
Falcao hit the bar early in the second half before Herrera, showing a nice piece of improvisation, flicked Di Maria’s poorly hit shot past the wrong-footed Schmeichel. That should have been that but Nugent’s contentious penalty, followed by Cambiasso’s low left-footed shot, brought Leicester level within seven minutes.
Leicester’s fourth arrived after Juan Mata, on for Di María, had his pocket picked inside his own half. De Laet fed Vardy, who had ocean’s of space to run into before calmly beating David de Gea. Ulloa’s penalty – his fifth goal in as many games – put a remarkable match beyond doubt.
“When you’re 3-1 down against Manchester United, to win the game – regardless of how people want to view where they’re at at the moment – I think it’s a decent result,” Pearson said. “It says a lot about [the character]. And I think we’ve got a bit more quality than people are maybe aware of.”
Man of the match Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)