Leicester City 0, Manchester United 3: Claudio Ranieri denies mutiny claims after champions’ relegation fears worsen
Leicester City 0, Manchester United 3
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri dismissed suggestions of a dressing-room mutiny after a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat deepened the champions’ relegation fears.
Man-of-the-match Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata struck as Manchester United won comfortbaly at the King Power Stadium to boost their Champions League qualification hopes.
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Ranieri’s position has come under the spotlight as Leicester’s slump has edged them closer to becoming the first English top-flight title-winners to be relegated the following season for 80 years.
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel hardly quelled claims of player unrest in a post-match interview when he passed up the opportunity to back Ranieri, but the Italian is adamant that his squad remain behind him.
“We are together. I have full confidence in my players, and also the players are confident with me,” he said.
“Last season is something terrific. Now we are Leicester and every time we have to fight. It’s the same Leicester of the last 10 years, and we have to fight.
“When we conceded the first goal we went down, and I don’t understand why. It’s important for us to be strong until the end and never give up, but the confidence is not high.”
Defeat left Leicester, the only team in England’s top four divisions still to score a league goal in 2017, 16th and just one point above the relegation zone.
Last season’s 5000/1 champions could yet become the first in England’s top flight to suffer the ignominy of relegation at the earliest opportunity since Manchester City in 1936-37.
United’s win ended a run of three successive league draws and, while it left them sixth, it moved them to within two points of fourth-placed Arsenal.
Leicester troubled the visitors with a vibrant opening spell, although United forward Marcus Rashford provided the most dangerous moments, first firing over and then seeing Schmeichel stop his rasping low shot.
When United took the lead as half-time approached – Mkhitaryan prodding past a wrong-footed Robert Huth, out-running Wes Morgan and beating Schmeichel – Leicester promptly folded.
Within two minutes, they were two goals behind, this time Ibrahimovic sweeping in a first-time effort from Antonio Valencia’s low cross for his 20th goal of the season.
Spain midfielder Mata wrapped up the win four minutes after the break, when he played a one-two with Mkhitaryan and slotted past Schmeichel at his near post.
Mata might have been sent off midway through the first half for a wild tackle on Jamie Vardy but escaped with a booking, a decision that still did little to assuage his manager’s sense of injustice.
“During the season everything is going against us,” said United boss Jose Mourinho. “If today is a doubtful decision, it is one of the few where we were not punished by the decisions.”