Manchester United were punished by Leicester City for a catastrophic defensive display as the Red Devils’ run of 29 unbeaten away matches came to an end.
Manchester United at one point seemed to steal a point from a dreadful performance but the Foxes rallied to secure their best win of an unimpressive beginning to the season.
It started so poetically for United when Mason Greenwood’s brilliant long-range left-footer strike put them in front in the early 18th minute but Leicester leveled before half-time when the returning Harry Maguire, who had a nightmare afternoon, was robbed off the ball by Kelechi Iheanacho to set up Youri Tielemans for a sweeping finish.
Leicester City were vastly superior after the break and went ahead when Caglar Soyuncu sparked a flurry of late goals when he pounced in a goalmouth scramble with 12 minutes to go.
Marcus Rashford, who returned as a substitute after three months following shoulder surgery, looked to have grabbed United out of the pit when he ran through to Victor Lindelof’s long ball to make a thunderous finish four minutes later.
The goal’s consolation did not last long as United conceded straight from the restart when Ayoze Perez pulled the ball back for Jamie Vardy who flashed a stunning finish past David de Gea.
There was to be no comeback this time and Patson Daka bundled in at the far post for the fourth in stoppage time.
The top-three tussel
Meanwhile, Manchester City had kept the pressure on Liverpool and Chelsea with a 2-0 win over Burnley.
Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne were on target as Manchester City beat Burnley 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to stay within a point of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Moreover, Liverpool kept the upward pace as they made Claudio Ranieri’s Premier League return one to forget as they battered Watford 5-0 with Roberto Firmino grabbing a hat-trick.
Chelsea beat their neighbours Brentford 1-0 to keep their grip on the Premier League’s top spot on Saturday as Ben Chilwell scored a stunner but they owed their three points as much to goalkeeper Edouard Mendy who denied the hosts with a string of late saves.
Pep Guardiola’s side are on 17 points from eight games, in third place, with Liverpool second on 18 points. and Chelsea on the top with 19 points with the same number of games.
