Squandering opportunities, Man Utd dropped victory at Leicester field

Taking the lead and playing with an extra man in the second half, Jose Mourinho's side were held to a 2-2 draw.

Goals: Vardy 27', Maguire 90'+5 - Mata 40' 60'.

Playing the latest match of round 19 of the Premier League, Man Utd took the field when Man City had already widened the gap to 14 points. The "Red Devils" chose to start the game cautiously and started to put pressure on their opponents in the middle of the second half. But instead of finding the opening goal, they were hit with a "counterattack".

Vardy opened the scoring for Leicester. Photo: Reuters.

Leicester had a well-organized counter-attack to open the match score. AfterHarry Maguire cut Matic's pass to Mata, the ball wasDanny Simpson burst out.Demarai Gray then volleyed the ball home toMahrez opened the pace. The Algerian midfielder calmly stopped the ball from Chris Smalling's tackle and passed it just enough for Vardy to finish diagonally, beating De Gea.

Pushing too high to put pressure on the Man Utd defenders made them lose their breath when racing with the opponent's attacking duo.Ashley Young also did not pay attention to Mahrez's run in this situation.

At the end of the first half, Mata equalized for Man Utd with a low left-footed shot. The ball did not go strong but close to the post, leaving Kasper Schmeichel helpless despite flying as far as he could. Before that, Matic stole the ball after a hesitation by Vicente Iborra. The ball then went to Anthony Martial and this player crossed for Jesse Lingard to pass back to Mata to finish.

Leicester had a good chance to regain the lead before half-time, but centre-back Harry Maguire failed to control the ball well when he met Mahrez's free-kick unmarked.Another Leicester defender had the chance early in the second half. Christian Fuchs had time to adjust the ball before finishing from close range after Mahrez's cross. However, the Austrian's shot deflected off Victor Lindelof.

Mata helped Man Utd take the lead with a successful free kick. Photo: Reuters.

Man Utd responded immediately in the next phase. However, Martial was too hasty despite facing the goalkeeper after Lukaku's pass. The French striker looked up in regret as his shot went over the bar.The former Monaco player made amends a few minutes later. He won Man Utd a free kick on the edge of the box and Mata converted it to put the "Red Devils" ahead.

With the lead, Man Utd turned to ambush and they almost succeeded when Lingard hit the post on a counter-attack. The England international used his speed to get past both the defender and the Leicester goalkeeper but could not score despite facing an open goal.

The advantage continued to be on Jose Mourinho's side when Daniel Amartey received two consecutive yellow cards within five minutes. The two fouls of the Ghanaian player had the same scenario. He tripped Young and Marcus Rashford during Man Utd's counter-attacks, but both situations took place in the middle of the field and the level of danger was not high.

Rashford was tackled by Schmeichel in a one-on-one situation. Photo: Leicester FC.

Man Utd continue to miss opportunities. Paul Pogba's pass helps Rashford faceSchmeichel but the young striker's decision to dribble the ball from Man Utd was caught. Having wasted too many opportunities, Mourinho's students "felt regret" in the fifth minute of extra time.

Smalling was injured in the final minutes and the injury seemed to prevent the Man Utd centre-back from jumping up to challenge for the decisive ball. The ball from Marc Albrighton's feet found Maguire and the centre-back scored the equaliser, denying Man Utd the victory.

With this draw, Man Utd's gap with Man City has widened to 13 points after round 19 while Leicester is still stuck in eighth place with 27 points.

According to VNE