First there was Eric Bailly giving the ball away in front of his own box, then there was Luke Shaw fizzing the ball straight at David de Gea’s net and nearly scoring an own goal, then there was Bailly and Harry Maguire contriving to only narrowly play Jamie Vardy offside… and that was all within the first 10 minutes.
Manchester United had some glorious chances against Leicester on Boxing Day but a pile of careless defensive errors meant they could easily have been several goals behind before Marcus Rashford made up for an earlier miss to put his side 1-0 up.
An early deficit would have continued the trend that has seen United make some dreadful starts in Premier League away games this season, going behind in each of their first six matches on the road before coming back to win.
Ironically, in a game in which United were lucky not to concede first they also failed to win, sharing the spoils with Leicester in a 2-2 draw.
The great frustration for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be that after that shaky start United could not hold on to their lead – with defensive lapses once again offering their opposition an easy way into the game.
There were three silly errors from United in the build-up to Harvey Barnes’ goal alone – with Harry Maguire putting Bruno Fernandes under pressure with a sloppy pass, the Portuguese playmaker then giving the ball away too easily and then Scott McTominay inexplicably allowing the Leicester midfielder ample time and space to fire into the net.
This was something Solskjaer picked out after the game, also highlighting defensive lapses for Leicester’s second goal.
“We’re disappointed that we didn’t win because we had loads of big chances and could have finished it off,” Solskjaer told BT Sport.
“Both goals should have been closed down quicker. First one definitely, second one as well down the side we should have managed to stop the cross.
“You always look at the goals we conceded to see if we should or could have done better.”
Perhaps United should be taking a harder look at the goals they have conceded this season because there have been too many of them.
Solskjaer’s men have the worst defensive record of the “big six” so far this season – including out of form Arsenal – and sit fifth in the Premier League table of goals conceded with 23.
Most goals conceded in Premier League this season
Correct at 5.30pm on Boxing Day 2020
- 1st: Leeds – 30
- 2nd: West Brom – 29
- 3rd: Sheffield United – 25
- =: Crystal Palace – 25
- 5th: Fulham – 23
- =: Man Utd – 23
That tally could easily have been worse after the Leicester game with Bailly and Fred both gifting Leicester dangerous free-kicks in the closing stages with a careless handball and mindless foul respectively.
United look devastating going forward this season – only Liverpool have scored more than their 30 – but, as the old adage goes, “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.”
In a game against one of their fellow contenders, United’s defence showed they have plenty of work to do.
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