It could be worse. With 10 minutes left, Raphaël Varane got in a cross, Kelechi Iheanacho broke it and passed to James Maddison who finished to make it 2-1. But Andre Marriner, in a VAR review, thought Iheanacho had blocked Varane and was ruled out. Although United came together from here – Jadon Sancho missed a golden opportunity – the end of their campaign is proving as sad as before. Rangnik wanted the last two and a half weeks of United’s previous move – the Champions League move away from Atletico Madrid – to be a “restoration” for the last nine games of the season. However, there was no such chance for Marcus Rasford, who, despite the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo (flu) and Edinson Cavani (injury), was not selected. When the freshness of the 24-year-old was taken into account due to the clear international fortnight, it was a clear statement of how far the local boy has fallen. Ronaldo was the big failure: the hero of the hat-trick of the 3-2 victory over Tottenham in the previous league was lost on Friday, when Rangnik made a Pep Guardiola, winning a fake No. 9 to Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese’s first act contained a puzzled look at Paul Pogba, when the latter failed to slip into the void behind Leicester where he hit the ball. If the Frenchman can often get upset, there was only clarity about Harry Maguire and the support offered by the besieged defender by United fans, after his disapproval in England. Fred was controlled by Rangnick as another United player who is as divisive as the captain. Bright in the patches, when he ceded possession and Kirnan Dusbury-Hall opened the defense in an attack that had Harvey Barnes shooting. This was the Brazilian in the microcosm. The home flag of United as the pioneering product of the academy this year is Anthony Elanga. He has rhythm and toughness before the goal and as he approaches the dangerous area: a cross that called Scott McTominay to head Kasper Schmeichel and a wave taken by James Justin before Wesley Fofana did the same to the 19-year-old were everyone’s performances . quality. Rangnik’s trick was for Fred, Elanga and Pogba to flood forward to support Fernandes and they did everything as United rushed their visitors. Pogba, almost a second “nine ghost”, was present to head Luke Shaw’s ball into the goal and while it was easy for Smichel to catch it he showed that, so far, the absence of Ronaldo and Cavani was not a problem. Further encouragement came when Fernandes looked like a striker running on Fred’s thread – from a mistaken touch by Fofana – before hitting a shot that Schmeichel made great to keep out. From this, Leicester broke quickly and Diogo Dalot and Varane almost kept Barnes at bay. Another horror came when United’s defense and midfield were killed and Iheanacho sprayed well when David de Gea should have been tested. Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates after giving the lead to Leicester. Photo: Russell Cheyne / Reuters Then a Madison-Barnes combination had the second shot: again it was off target, again United had been warned. If an unwanted commotion broke out in Rangnick’s men, the way McTomney’s got Madison out suggested he would shake it. But, that was dangerous and he was lucky that Marriner thought it was only worth the yellow. Ten minutes into the second half and the German went into precautionary mode: Rasford passed, McTominey left and United had a natural spearhead, Rasford showed his value with a run to the right that forced a corner. In the race for the top four, the draw was not what United needed and things took a turn for the worse as they were resolved. Fred broke from a corner by Leicester, but when he passed to Fernandez Duisbery-Hall he grabbed the possession and fed Madison to the left. He crossed and Varan missed a header, but Iheanacho did not, De Gea could only finish the dive. This disaster for United, however, was soon reduced to an almost momentary draw. This time Schmeichel was the main culprit – his fluffy bastard fell from Varane to Fred, who passed it on to Fernandes: when he pulled the trigger and Schmeichel repulsed, Fred broke into the house. Then, in a breathless pass, De Gea flew to his right to repel Fofana’s head to make a sparkling repulse. The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. Then came Maddison’s goal-which-never was and then United dominated. But without result.
