Back in black: reshaped Manchester United rout defending champions Leicester
Manager Jose Mourinho’s decision to start Wayne Rooney from the bench is justified with players scoring four first-half goals led by Chris Smalling
Jose Mourinho’s reshaped Manchester United destroyed Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1 with a performance that thrilled Old Trafford and justified his decision to leave out Wayne Rooney.
Shaking up the line-up seemed to liberate Paul Pogba who led the way with a polished display yesterday, heading his first goal for the club on 42 minutes and starting the clever move that led to Juan Mata firing home United’s second after 37 minutes.
Rooney bore the brunt of the criticism following his laboured displays and Mourinho decided to put his 30-year-old captain on the bench in the biggest call of his United reign to date.
“Sometimes when I read you [in the media], I feel I know nothing about football,” Mourinho said. “But there is one thing I know – the rules of the game. And I can only start with 11 [players].”
Mourinho said it was a tactical decision to drop Rooney, a day after saying the striker had struggled under the weight of media criticism since a poor display for England against Slovakia on September 4.
Mata, who replaced Rooney, also played a major part in United’s third, firing across goal for Marcus Rashford to convert from close range. Chris Smalling, who succeeded Rooney as captain, had begun the rout with a header after 22 minutes.