RASH TO RESCUE
‘Godfather’ Jose carries out another hit as Old Trafford fans rise in salute to boss
UNITED’S fans are calling Jose Mourinho the Godfather of Old Trafford.
T-shirts, with the United boss dressed like Marlon Brando in the most-famous Mafia film of the lot, are being sold outside the ground.
And Mourinho’s in-form players carried out another hit, this time against the Premier League champions of two seasons ago.
It was not an easy assignment but substitute Marcus Rashford finally cracked Leicester’s resistance in the 70th minute.
And that was after Foxes keeper Kasper Schmeichel had saved a Romelu Lukaku penalty on the ground where his father, Peter, became a legend.
But eight minutes from time, substitutes Jesse Lingard and Marouane Fellaini combined to finally kill off Leicester.
Lingard supplied the cross and Fellaini the close-range touch.
So United maintained their flying start to the season with a third successive win.
Mourinho said: “We had too many draws at home last season. The difference is the quality of our football. We are playing better but nine points after three matches is nothing different for us because we did that last season.”
Usain Bolt, the fastest man of all time and a United fan, was at Old Trafford and appropriately the Reds were quickly out of the blocks. A slick passing move in the first minute led to Henrikh Mkhitaryan having a shot blocked.
United thought they had taken the lead in the 18th minute when Juan Mata drove home but he was adjudged to be marginally offside.
United, though, maintained the onslaught and after fine play by Anthony Martial, in for Rashford for his first start of the season, Paul Pogba sent the ball across the face of the goal.
A minute later and the leaping Schmeichel turned a fine Mata effort for a corner.
United had a shoot-on-sight policy – particularly the hyper Pogba – and the next save Schmeichel had to make was to smother a good effort from Martial.
Lukaku went close with a header, although he should have done better, but Leicester survived the first-half.
United finally looked to have the perfect opportunity to break through when former Old Trafford full-back Danny Simpson handled Martial’s cross from the left.
Lukaku took the penalty, but Schmeichel dived to his right to make an outstanding save, even though the shot was at a good height for the keeper.
When Leicester raised the siege, De Gea had to keep out Riyad Mahrez’s drive with his feet at his near post.
Mahrez also fizzed a dangerous ball across the face of the United goal without anyone getting a touch.
But United finally cracked the Leicester defence 20 minutes from time when Rashford, just three minutes after coming on as substitute, lashed home Mkhitaryan’s right-wing corner.
Schmeichel got a touch to the ball but could not keep it out – and Leicester would not be happy with their marking from the set piece.
Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare said: “Set pieces are our Achilles heel at the moment. We need to organise and set better.”
It was a match in which Phil Jones was outstanding.