Premier League 2022/23: How Man United’s quick transitions proved too much for Leicester City’s defensive frailties – tactical analysis

On Thursday night, Man United beat Leicester City one-nil at the King Power stadium.

The victory saw Erik ten Hags men win their third game in a row, pushing them up to fifth place in the Premier League table. In what was looking like a disastrous start to his reign, the former Ajax manager has now appeared to stop the rot by winning back-to-back away matches for the first time in over a year.

Each passing game is starting to show different imprints of ten Hags tactical identity and with the media speculation surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s future now over, United can look forward and start aiming to build momentum.

On the opposite bench, Brendan Rodgers and Leicester City’s troubles continue as the defeat now leaves the club winless in five games and rooted to the bottom of the league table. This was the fourth defeat in a row for Leicester, and with the club being restricted in the transfer market this summer, the pressure is now on Rodgers to raise the performance of his players.

This tactical analysis will focus on the key tactics and tactical traits that helped Manchester United earn the victory. We will look at how both teams set up and examine how United’s counterattacks could have led to them winning by a greater margin. Finally, we will look at how Leicester’s defensive frailties are leading to them being too easy to play through.

Lineups

Both Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison returned to Leicester’s starting eleven after they missed out against Chelsea last Saturday.

Although there was heavy speculation surrounding the future of Youri Tielemans and whether he would remain a Leicester City player, he started the game and has remained with the club.