Old Fox Vardy is a match for Cavani
IN THE end, it was the two old-fashioned centre-forwards, players with miles on the clock, who would prove decisive.
Edinson Cavani and Jamie Vardy are both 33 years old. They’ve been down this track a few times before.
Their intelligent physicality, runs off the ball and their instinct tell of old heads which are not easily fazed. In a thoroughly entertaining match-up of Premier League equals, both made their mark.
For Vardy (pictured below celebrating his side’s late equaliser with James Maddison), it was in the way he ghosted away from Eric Bailly in the 85th minute to ensure Leicester got the point they deserved.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who knows all about late interventions in vital matches, praised Vardy’s movement in drifting to find himself on the end of an Ayoze Perez cross.
‘Ole would know about that instinct,’ said Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers. ‘ Jamie has this incredible brain for football. He reads the game so well. Not everyone finds themselves in the position to score.’
It would have been Vardy’s 13th Premier League goal of the season but, for now, the deflection off Axel Tuanzebe’s legs has it down as an own goal.
Solskjaer also knows what it’s like to come off the bench and make an impact for United, and that was precisely what Cavani managed.
After 75 minutes in which Anthony Martial had lacked authority as a centre-forward, Cavani came on to demonstrate how to dominate from that position.
Tuanzebe made the incisive pass that freed Cavani, but it was the Uruguayan’s quick feet and decisive run into Leicester territory which transformed the moment.
Bruno Fernandes spotted a kindred spirit, made the run, received the pass and finished the move perfectly to put United 2-1 ahead.
On the back of his match-winning performance against Everton on Wednesday, Cavani is beginning to find his feet after a settling-in period and injury problems.
‘You just have to wait a while for Edinson to get used to English football and the demands of the season,’ said Solskjaer. ‘It is very much stop and start, game every three days, but he made a great impact today.’
It wasn’t all about the old heads, however. Marcus Rashford, 23, might have had a hat-trick, his header over inside the opening two minutes being a particularly glaring miss. But he did redeem himself on 23 minutes, with a clinical finish to score his 50th Premier League goal for the club. Daniel James cut inside but it was the decisive outstretched leg of Fernandes which turned it into Rashford’s path and this time he didn’t falter.
‘His stats say everything about his qualities,’ said Solskjaer, who praised him as a ‘player and a human being’. There is so much focus on Rashford’s impressive humanitarianism, it’s easy to forget that he still delivers on the pitch as well.
Though, as that early miss showed, there is still room for improvement. A later one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel saw the
Leicester keeper come out on top with a fine save, mimicking the spread-eagle stance of his father Peter, a strong hand pushing the ball away. Then there was Harvey Barnes, also 23, and surely poised to partner Rashford more frequently on England duty, with probably the pick of the goals, a 20-yard strike after Fernandes had lost the ball to Wilfred Ndidi. It would be churlish to dwell on Fernandes’ error. His record since joining the club last January is phenomenal. Again he was United’s best player with his goal, assist and all-round authority. He must rank as one of their best-ever signings.
‘Bruno is a definitely a player that impacts results,’ said Solskjaer. ‘He scores goals, creates chances and takes risks which any Manchester United player should be brave enough to do. Sometimes there is an easier pass but you can’t take that away from Bruno — you want him to be the X-factor.’
Steadily, United are plotting their way to the top of the table but without convincing they can win the title. Defensively, they remain too open and play in bursts rather than dominating opponents.
Playing Victor Lindelof as a stand-in right-back allowed Barnes to thrive, while James Justin and
Marc Albrighton made incursions from the opposite flank. Indeed, Leicester gave as good as they got.
‘When you play the huge clubs, they have that personality that sometimes a lesser club lacks,’ said Rodgers. ‘But I thought we played with that personality and authority.’
Perhaps it is a sign of how far Leicester have risen in the past 10 years that these sides meet as equals. Of course, it could equally be an indication of United’s decline. Be that as it may, there is little to split them. LEICESTER (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Justin, Forfana, Evans, Castagne; Tielemans, Ndidi; Barnes, Maddison, Albrighton (Perez 81); Vardy. Subs (not used): Ward, Iheanacho, Amartey, Choudhury, Mendy, Praet, Fuchs, Thomas. Booked: Ndidi, Maddison.
MAN UTD (4-2-3-1): De Dea; Lindelof (Tuanzebe 65), Bailly, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; James (Pogba 53), Fernandes, Rashford; Martial (Cavani 75). Subs (not used): Greenwood, Lingard, Henderson, Telles, Matic, Van de Beek.
Booked: Fernandes.
Referee: Mike Dean.