Manchester United vs. Leicester City score: Red Devils fail to make ground in Premier League top four race

Manchester United failed to make up serious ground in the top four race as they found themselves held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester City at Old Trafford.

Following a first half desperately short on quality, Leicester charged out into the front just after the hour mark, the Foxes turning a United counter attack into a devastating moment of their own as James Maddison landed a cross right in stride for Kelechi Iheanacho to flick in. The Foxes' lead did not last long as they conceded the sort of cheap goal that has become something of their stock trade in a disappointing season.

A nervy clearance by Kasper Schmeichel, who had been played into pressure by Daniel Amartey, allowed Fernandes to shoot from outside the box and although the Dane saved the initial shot Fred was on hand to mark his 100th Premier League game with a goal. Despite their get out of jail card, United looked the more likely to concede in the game's closing quarter however as Iheanacho clipped over the bar and Wesley Fofana drew a fine save from David de Gea.

Indeed, Leicester might feel hard done by that Maddison's strike low into the bottom corner was ruled out by VAR for a foul by Iheanacho on Raphael Varane in the build up. Though, they were lucky that an offside Anthony Elanga took the ball off the feet of substitute Marcus Rashford when he seemed bound to score an injury time winner. Brendan Rodgers would surely have been more satisfied with the point -- one which takes them up to ninth -- than his Manchester United counterpart. The Red Devils trail fourth placed Arsenal by four points, having played two games more, leaving them with a mountain to make up in their remaining eight games.

A striking lack of quality upfront

Cristiano Ronaldo's illness and Edinson Cavani's increasingly frequent absence left Ralf Rangnick with something of a headache upfront, prompting him to once more return to the system he played in defeat to Manchester City last month with Fernandes and Paul Pogba nominally leading the line. It was debatable to what extent they actually did that, at the Etihad they had at least occupied advanced spaces as they looked to press the Citizens backline.

In a game where they dominated possession the strike tandem did not quite tick. Pogba, and in particular Fernandes, could not help but follow the ball ever deeper without really looking to turn and run at the Leicester backline. They would collect the ball, look for the pass to the center forward and then realize "oh wait, I'm the center forward". The ball would then be lofted from one flank to another before moves meandered to their conclusion. Their only real creative avenue was a Leicester mistake. When it came, through a loose Wesley Fofana pass, Fernandes could not put his shot wide enough of Kasper Schmeichel's left leg.

A front two of creators can work, but what it needs is wide forwards attacking the box. Jadon Sancho had done so the last time out but he struggled to get the better of the impressive James Justin, and Anthony Elanga had one of those quiet games that are perfectly understandable for a Premier League rookie. 

It took Rangnick less than an hour to make the obvious call and bring on Marcus Rashford. Though he threatened in the game's dying moments, this was, for the most part, a cameo that pointed to why he was on the bench in the first place. There is clearly a player of real talent there -- he showed that with his charge through the Leicester defense in added time -- but one who has been as great a victim of the Old Trafford turbulence as anyone else. For years he seems to have been developing from a center forward into a left sided attacker and yet that position has been taken from him to make room for Jadon Sancho, who was signed to fill the problem position on the opposite flank. A coherent team-building effort this is not.

Leicester stars begin their England push

Friday's World Cup draw will doubtless have focused minds across the Premier League. There might be seven months before the Premier League hits its pause point, but that is not as much football as one might imagine. For those on the fringes of the England squad, it is already long past the point where they need to catch Gareth Southgate's eye.

Barnes already knows he has an admirer in the England manager who have him his debut in October 2020. But for a major knee injury he might have gone to the European Championships, yet any lengthy absence opens the door for others and now the 24 year old has the intimidating task of overhauling the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden to get in the squad. That task is all the tougher when players like Sancho and West Ham's Jarrod Bowen are also pushing for opportunities.

Still, more performances like this and Southgate will surely be tempted to give Barnes another go. From the outset he crackled with menace, forcing a free kick in the second minute when he drove past Diogo Dalot. His finishing touch might have left something to be desired, but no one on the pitch looked a more consistent threat on the edge of the box.

Perhaps his nearest rival was Maddison, a player who has never quite been as admired by the England setup. He will, perhaps, be even more hard placed to change Southgate's mind, but if he is going to fizzing deliveries such as that he provided for Iheanacho's opener will go a long way. A day that had begun with him toiling away on the right wing might very well have ended with him scoring a winner at Old Trafford but for VAR's intervention.

Maguire gets a warmer reception

After England fans greeted Harry Maguire's recent poor club form with a chorus of boos, it was perhaps to be expected that Old Trafford would rally around its captain. They can give him stick, they seemingly reasoned, but not the rest of the country. And so Maguire found his name chanted before kick off and in the first half.

Perhaps unsurprisingly a more supportive atmosphere brought the best out of the former Leicester defender, who also seemed rather more at ease on Varane's right than might be expected for a center back that has usually favored playing towards the left. In many ways this relatively quiet game was all he could have wanted, not least because it came with a smattering of valuable interventions. Had it not been for Maguire's clearing head at the back post midway through the first half Leicester might well have had their winner.