United 4 Leicester 1

There will be those who, of course, simplify this result under a headline of

'Rooney dropped - United win', but it was much more satisfying than that.  Although some poor Leicester defending contributed to their defeat, for half an hour in the first half United imposed their game on their opponents in a manner we've not seen for far too long and ran out comfortable winners.

In truth, it had looked a fairly even contest at first.  United clearly carried much greater menace up front, but Leicester's pace was a threat and they enjoyed a decent share of the play.  All that changed in the 22nd minute when Blind's corner was met by the head of Smalling at the far post and United took the lead.

It was debatable which aspect of the goal was most reassuring - the delivery from Blind or the United players queuing to get on the end of it.  It put United in control anyway and, in a blistering five minutes later in the half, they put the game beyond the champions.

Although the visitors' defensive organisation was poor, the way United probed and exploited the spaces they left was impressive.  Mata found himself in acres of space in the area to add a second, while two further Blind corners produced two more goals.  The first was a clever short ball into the box for Mata, whose ball across the goal was prodded home by Rashford while the second found Pogba, whose header brought his first United goal and the fourth of the afternoon.

Understandably, United took their foot off the gas in the second half and, although Leicester pulled one back through a brilliant strike from Gray, the Reds ultimately coasted to a deserved win, avoiding the prospect of a third successive league defeat and producing some inspired football at times.  The game settled, there was even the opportunity to introduce Rooney from the bench late in the second half to warm applause from the crowd.  What a difference a win makes.