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The King Power draw shows Manchester United have the depth to stage a title challenge … but Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani must be the men to change Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s results
- Manchester United and Leicester City played a 2-2 draw on Boxing Day
- The match had a great turnover with both sides in second and third place in the league.
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had depth, Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani went to the bench
- Both stars made promising cameos, but need to convert matches in United’s favor
- Leicester showed why they started so well, but January will be a quiet month
Any coach who can afford to leave Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani out of his starting eleven for a match with a leading opponent must always have a team capable of winning major trophies.
When that manager is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the club in question is Manchester United, every decision is subject to the greatest scrutiny.
Even with this tie, United are in the running for the title and if Solskjaer can deliver his first since 2013, all the controversial selections will have been justified.
Edinson Cavani was influential after entering Leicester and created a Man United goal
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought in Paul Pogba in the later stages as United chased three points
More words have been written and spoken about Pogba’s status at United than on almost any other topic in English football, but the fact remains that he is a world-class player who produced a decisive performance in helping France beat Croatia in the last final of the World Cup.
Cavani, meanwhile, has been one of the best center forwards on the planet for a decade. Here they were given 51 minutes between them, as Pogba replaced the disappointing Daniel James shortly after the break, and Cavani was dispatched by the equally ineffective Anthony Martial with 15 minutes to go.
Despite going forward twice, United settled for a draw, although they had better chances
Within five minutes of his arrival, Cavani had created United’s second goal for Bruno Fernandes with brilliant movement and an even better pass.
To add some perspective, Leicester’s backing center forward here was Kelechi Iheanacho, a useful player but who, at 24, is still trying to establish himself as a Premier League regular.
While Solskjaer could call on Pogba, Brendan Rodgers’ substitute midfielders were Nampalys Mendy and Hamza Choudhury. Neither has been limited to a senior international level.
As he did in Leeds 6-2 win last weekend, Solskjaer opted for Fred and Scott McTominay in the middle and certainly in the first half, they both did an impressive job of chaining down James Maddison, who was operating in the ranked number 10 for Leicester. .
United were looking for their 11th consecutive away win in the Premier League, living up to the record held jointly by Manchester City and Chelsea, and they created the best chances of an absorbing game.
On either side of giving United the lead, Marcus Rashford hit a free header over the bar and Kasper Schmeichel denied him when he passed clean. Fernandes and Harry Maguire also missed excellent header opportunities after Harvey Barnes tied for Leicester at the half hour mark.
United’s excellent results away from home are easy to understand. With teams encouraged to attack them, the rhythm of Rashford, Martial and James, allied to the creativity of Fernandes, make them devastating on the counterattack.
At Old Trafford, though, it’s a different matter: when Solskjaer’s team is expected to come up short, they often fall short, with too great a burden on Fernandes to find the answers.
Leicester’s courage and determination were testament to the start made with Brendan Rodgers
In these matches, surely Pogba and Cavani have a bigger role to play, with their experience in the greatest stages and their understanding of how to deliver under pressure.
If Solskjaer can’t find more room for Pogba and Cavani, Rodgers will surely welcome them. In the real world, both are far out of reach for the Foxes, who will have little leeway in the January transfer window to build another strong start to the season.
However, while they lack the depth of the team and United financial power, they do have key men who stand up when it matters. Schmeichel stood up brilliantly to save Rashford at 1-1, while Vardy’s deft movement into the box gave him the space to convert a substitute center from Ayoze Pérez through a deflection by another substitute, Axel Tuanzebe .
To keep up with Liverpool, Solskjaer may need to give his two most famous players a greater chance to shine.
