Premier League, highlights: Bruno, Lingard goals take United into Champions League with win over Leicester

Follow the Leicester City vs Manchester United updates and commentary from the Premier League as both teams chase Champions League berths.

Updated : Jul 26, 2020 22:42 IST

Leicester and Manchester United will look to their key strikers Jamie Vardy and Anthony Martial to fire them to the Champions League.
Leicester and Manchester United will look to their key strikers Jamie Vardy and Anthony Martial to fire them to the Champions League.
lightbox-info

Leicester and Manchester United will look to their key strikers Jamie Vardy and Anthony Martial to fire them to the Champions League.

 

That's the final whistle! Manchester United is back in the Champions League! Chelsea finishes fourth and will have to play a two-legged play-off game to get into the group stages of the Champions League.

90'+8' GOOAL! Lingard robs the ball off Schmeichel and he rolls the ball into the net! United up 2-0!

MUFC SUB: Fosy Mensah and Ighalo come on for Rashford and Martial

90'+6' United is looking to run down the clock.

90'+4' Jonny Evans is sent off for a foul on McTominay. That's a nasty challenge. It's a straight red card. McTominay is down and is receiving medical attention.

90'+3' Maguire goes down under a push from Evans and the referee gives a foul in United's favour.

90'+2' Williams gives away a foul on the edge of UNited box and he is booked for it. Schmeichel comes up into United's box

Yellow card for Pogba as we head into five minutes of added time.

LCFC SUB: Thomas goes off for George Hirst in the 88th minute

MUFC SUB: Mctominay comes on for Bruno, who has had a season-defining impact for United in his first seven months in England

85' Maguire does well to get his head on to the corner before Evans is fouled for climbing over Pogba.

84' Gray's free-kick is deflected behind for a corner kick.

84' Maguire fouls Vardy right outside United's box. He says he got the ball but referee remains unmoved.

83' Give away in midfield by Pogba and Grey is released on the right side. He cuts in and takes a shot which whisks wide of the far post. Matic is booked for a foul in the build up.

82' Foul on Martial by Morgan. Good strength from the Frenchman to hold off the pressure.

80' Rashford takes a knock against his head. Foul in favour of United.

79' Morgan can only catch the air his his attempted left-footed volley! He has unmarked inside the box!

MUFC SUB: Greenwood goes off for Lingard

I must say the crowd noise has made this contest really, really intriguing as Leicester come pushing for the equaliser.

75' SAVE! Barnes gets lucky inside United's box and he takes a shot on the turn which De Gea pouches. 

LCFC SUBS: Barnes, Gray, Praet come on. Choudhury, Albrighton, Tielemans go off.

Time for the last water break of the season as Rodgers rallies up the troops. Chelsea still 2-0 up against Wolves.

71' GOOAAAL! Bruno Fernandes stands over it... and he puts United in front! United has breathing space now and Leicester has to score two goals to make the Champions League place! United moves back up into third place.

69' PENALTY TO UNITED! Greenwood does well to pick the ball of Choudhury and Rashford feeds Martial through on goal. Evans and Morgan appear to clatter Martial down as he bears down on goal. No hesitation from the referee to pint to spot. VAR check complete and decision stands.

Looks like United's workload issues are beginning to show.. Bruno, Pogba and Martial all appearing leggy as they misplace passes.

63' Leicester on the ascendancy as United looks nervous at the back. Lindelof with a foul on Vardy and he is yellow carded. Both United centre-backs on yellow. Hmm.. what could go wrong..

61' Corner for Leicester after Tielemans' shot is deflected behind by Maguire. Foul inside the box goes i favour of United.

60' Free-kick for LCFC and Tielemans' free-kick is flicked on by Vardy which clips the bar!!

LCFC SUB: Ayoze Perez comes on for Iheanacho

58' Greenwood splits the LCFC backline with a throughball but its a little too heavy for Martial to get on the end of.

Sustained period of United possession with Leicester not giving United space in and around its box.

52' Albrighton with a low cross from the right side which needed Lindelof to intercept. To add to the drama, the rain is pouring down in East Midlands.

Tackles flying in everywhere as there is now a real edge to the start of the half.

49' Foul called against Ndidi during Leicester's corner.

47' Matic plays Martial in behind Leicester's defence to run on goal but Justin recovers well to nick the ball away from his feet.

46' We are underway for the last 45 minutes of the season. You can't ask for a better climax to the end of the season.

SECOND HALF

Half-time at King Power Stadium with scoreline remaining 0-0. A tantalising 45 minutes coming up your way. Phew.

Chelsea has taken a 2-0 lead right at the stroke of half-time! That's a big blow for Leicester as Chelsea leapfrogs United into third place.

45+2' From the resulting corner, BRashford thumps the ball on target only for Schmeichel to thwart it away.

45+ 1' Intricate play from Pogba and Bruno and the ball finds the feet of Martial, whose shot on the turn is deflected behind for a corner.

Three minutes of added time.

45' United's turn to hit on the break but Bruno's pass for Rashford's is cut off by a sprawling Morgan.

42' Pogba floats the ball high for Rashford, who remains strong in challenge to position himself for a shot but he puts his shot wide.

41' Thomas picks out Vardy inside the box but he is blocked by Maguire before getting of the shot.

40' Leicester is doing a good job with a back five in defence with Albrighton tucking in on the right side. Iheanacho looks lively on the break but he is yet to use Vardy's blistering space in such situation.

Bruno is okay to continue now.

35' Bruno Fernandes goes down after a challenge from Justin. He is receiving treatment from the United medic.

34' Iheanacho runs atUnited's defence on the break and finds Tielemans in space on the edge of United's box. His sidefooted effort nearly sneaks into the net but rolls wide.

33' Pogba with a delightful pickout for Bruno's run who brings it down and scores but is flagged offisde.

30' Leicester's turn to pin United in its half after winning the ball in midfield through Ndidi.

25' Nervy moment from De Gea again. He spills the ball after a scuffed shot from Iheanacho on the break. He manages to get his hand to the ball away from Vardy, who runs in for the rebound. Luckily the flag goes up against Vardy. That will be the first water break of the game. Vardy has a go at De Gea for that coming together.

20' Maguire nearly overran the ball with Iheanacho behind him but Matic is there to cover him.

18' Rashford from the left again finds the run of Martial who chases the ball down to make the cutback but there are no United players in the box.

16' Leicester work the ball down the left channel with Thomas finding Albrighton inside the box. The winger can't find the target from a tight angle.

14 ' Sloppy stuff from Matic at the back with a poor pass with Leicester pressing United high up the pitch. Ndidi, however, can't keep his shot on target.

11' Rashford with a lovely pickout inside Leciester's box to find Greenwood's run but he can't keep his header down on the jump.

10' Maguire slides into the back of Iheanacho and the referee immediately cautions the United skipper.

8' Ihenacho goes down inside United's box but referee says play on.

6' Martial drives into the left channel but his cutback for Rashford is cut off.

United dominating possession in the opening five minutes.

3' Greenwood runs back into his box to cut put a cross from Vardy. Excellently done by the youngster.

2' Pogba in space plays Martial in behind Leicetser's defence but the flag goes up against the striker.

1' United in red kicks off from right to left.

FIRST HALF

8.25 pm: We are just minutes away from the kick-off at the King Power. The players are making their way out to the pitch.

Form guide (Last six games)

Manchester United: W W W D W D

Leicester City: L W D L W L

8.15 pm: Solskajer confirms that Luke Shaw is out until the end of the season after he injured his ankle against Southampton.

8.10 pm: Solskjaer: 'I know a draw is good enough but that's not the Manchester United way. I trust them to go out there and show their personalities. We've had to chase Leicester down from quite a few points behind.'

8.05 pm: Rodgers: 'We know we want to win and we have to win. There are sections of the game that we have to ensure considering the talent United have.'

POLL

 

8 pm: Former United captain and pundit Gary Neville voices his concerns about Lindelof and Maguire while speaking with broadcaster Sky Sports : 'I'm a little bit worried about Iheanacho against Lindelof. He will occupy him physically. That leaves Maguire against Vardy. It is critical that the two full-backs tie themselves to Lindelof and Maguire and don't get encouraged forward too easily.'

7.42 pm: Brendan Rodgers has gone with some cover in central midfield in the form of Hamza Choudhury and it could suggest he will sit in a midfield two with Ndidi just behind Tielemans. Albrighton, too, gets a rare start. Barnes, Perez, Gray provide attacking options of the bench. 

7.40 pm: Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer has yet again gone in with his strongest line-up at his disposal minus Luke Shaw. Williams, who has been underwhelming in his last two starts, gets the nod again at left-back.

 

7.24 pm: Just a few more minutes before the final team line-ups of the season. Both teams have a few injury concerns.

PREVIEW

The final day of the Premier League season on Sunday promises to be a nerve-racking one for fans of clubs at both ends of the table as three teams vie for two Champions League spots and three more look to avoid relegation.

At the top, champion Liverpool and second-placed Manchester City have already sealed their spots in the Champions League while Manchester United (63 points), Chelsea (63) and Leicester City (62) fight it out for the two remaining places.

READ:

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SCENARIOS

MANCHESTER UNITED (THIRD)

* Since United plays fifth-placed Leicester, a win or a draw will ensure a top-four finish.

* United can still qualify if it loses as long as Chelsea also loses to Wolverhampton Wanderers and United's advantage on goal difference (+15 over Chelsea) is maintained.

* If United misses out on a top four spot, it can still qualify for the Champions League if it wins the Europa League.

CHELSEA (FOURTH)

* Chelsea will finish in the top four with a win or a draw against Wolves.

* If Chelsea loses to Wolves, it will qualify if United beats Leicester.

* If Chelsea misses out on a top four spot, it can still qualify for the Champions League by winning this year's competition next month.

LEICESTER CITY (FIFTH)

* A win will allow Leicester to leapfrog United and seal a top four spot.

* If Leicester draws with United and if Chelsea loses to Wolves, Leicester will qualify due to a better goal difference than Chelsea.

* A defeat for Leicester will see it miss out on the Champions League.

ALSO READ:

Hotstar will live stream the Premier League match of Leicester City vs Manchester United from 8.30 pm (IST) on Sunday.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment