Monday 30 November 2015

Leicester City vs Man Utd

Leicester City 1- 1 Man Utd


Jamie Vardy wrote his name into Premier League
history by scoring for the 11th successive game - but
both Leicester City and Manchester United missed the
chance to go top of the table with this draw at King
Power Stadium.
Vardy, wearing golden boots, went into this game
hoping to eclipse former United striker Ruud van
Nistelrooy's record, set across two seasons in 2003.
And he savoured his moment in the 24th minute,
running on to Christian Fuchs' pass to send a low,
powerful finish past United keeper David de Gea.
Bastian Schweinsteiger headed United's equaliser right
on half-time and despite plenty of energy from both
sides after the break, the stalemate leaves Manchester
City at the Premier League summit.
Relive Leicester's draw with Manchester United
Vardy's golden run the perfect example
Man of the day - and of the season so far - irrespective
of the result was Vardy as he scored the goal that
wrote his name in the Premier League record books.
Leicester City's 28-year-old striker has been a man on
a mission since the start of the season and if the
weight of expectation he carried into this game was
any sort of burden, he carried it lightly.
There was not a trace of nerves as he darted between
two United defenders and on to Fuchs' pass to race
clear and beat goalkeeper David de Gea with a precise
finish.
As the King Power Stadium rocked to a crescendo of
noise and Vardy took the acclaim, it was time to reflect
on the sort of finish that has become his trademark in
a golden season for the striker who has made his way
from Stocksbridge Park Steel in the non-league to
England recognition and history maker.
There were just two passes
in the counter attack that
led to Vardy's record-
breaking goal
Vardy took Fuchs' pass in his stride and fired an
unerring low finish past De Gea - and the tributes came
instantly from the football world.
What a story - and what an example to any youngsters
or non-league players fighting their way up the ladder.
And the run may not be over yet.
Rooney's struggles continue
England captain Rooney suffered another game of toil
and struggle before he was substituted by Louis van
Gaal after 67 minutes.
Rooney was withdrawn in
the second half, just the
second time Van Gaal has
replaced him this season
Rooney, 30, has had his worth continually questioned
this season - both for club and country - and he did
nothing here to dismiss the claims that he has lost
many of his former formidable powers.
He looked off the pace as United struggled to get any
rhythm, although he was not alone there, and took a
couple of hefty bangs before he was replaced by
Memphis Depay.
Rooney was not lacking effort, it was the inspiration
and spark that was missing and he did not look like
rediscovering it.
Can Leicester keep mixing it at the top?
If Vardy is the man of the Premier League season,
then Leicester City have been the team of the season -
but can they keep it going?
It hardly takes huge expertise or insight to work out
that so much depends on the form and fitness of
Vardy - his pace, work-rate and goals give Claudio
Ranieri's side an extra dimension.
Leicester manager Claudio
Ranieri insists his side's
target remains to reach the
40-point mark
Players of Vardy's pace make even the best defences
take a step back, instantly allowing others to profit
from the space created by his threat.
Leicester have plenty of other things going for them
though - especially the raw talent, pace and
unpredictability of the outstanding Riyad Mahrez.
He has rivalled Vardy for the headlines this season and
is a potent threat, currently fuelled by a combination of
neat adrenalin and confidence.
Ranieri has ditched his "Tinkerman" style in favour of
stability and here at the King Power Stadium you get
football in the raw, with the Foxes backed by a noisy,
fanatical support only too happy to ride the wave that
has been this Premier League season.
Put that together and - while it is a stretch to suggest
they will be serious title challengers - this season still
holds huge potential for Leicester City.
'You have to win these games'
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri: "I'm very, very
happy. We wanted to win today, but also we wanted to
help Jamie achieve the record. Well done to my players
for helping Jamie Vardy to score.
"The whole team are in very good physical condition
and they have a good mentality. They want to do their
best until the end, and if the opponent is better than us
on the day then well done to the opponent.
"Our first priority remains 40 points - that is our goal, to
keep us in the Premier League. As soon as we get
there we can look to take another step."
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal: "I am very
disappointed. It was a feeling that we could have won
this game and we didn't. We gave the goal away and
the other chances we had we gave away as well.
"We could have lost as well in spite of our dominance
and I think we you want to be the champion at the end
of the season, and the players, managers and
supporters all want that, you have to win these kind of
games.
"We created not so many chances but that was also
because there were many chances in a very compact
pitch."
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Vardy continued his
remarkable goal-scoring
run as he wrote himself
into the history books
The stats you need to know
Vardy's 14 goals make him the highest scoring
Leicester player in a single Premier League
season, one above Tony Cottee who scored 13 in
1999-2000.
Manchester United (and David de Gea) conceded
from open play in the Premier League for the
first time in 545 minutes.
Bastian Schweinsteiger netted his first goal since
May for Bayern Munich against Mainz -
Leicester's Shinji Okazaki was playing for Mainz
that day.
Christian Fuchs registered his first assist in the
Premier League for Jamie Vardy's goal,
becoming the seventh Austrian to provide an
assist for a Premier League goal.
Two of Daley Blind's three Premier League
assists have come against Leicester.
What's next for both sides?
Manchester United play at home to West Ham in the
Premier League on Saturday, before travelling to
Wolfsburg for a game they must win if they are to be
certain of reaching the Champions League knockout
stages.
Leicester play away to Swansea in the Premier League
next Saturday, before playing Chelsea in a Monday
night kick-off, nine days later.

0 comments:

Post a Comment