‘Some Unbelievable Strikes’ – Taggart Assesses Man Utd Victory

- Leicester City recorded a 4-2 success over Manchester United on Saturday
- Former Fox Gerry Taggart reacted to the win on LCFC Radio’s Matchday Live
- Determination and hard work were the key to victory, according to Taggart
- The quality of the goals scored on Filbert Way also impressed Taggart

The Foxes returned to winning ways at King Power Stadium with a stunning performance that included goals from Youri Tielemans, Çağlar Söyüncü, Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka – his first in competitive action for the Club since arriving this summer.

Speaking following full-time, the former Foxes defender, who was part of LCFC Radio’s commentary team for the fixture, felt City's defensive stability and high press provided a solid foundation to help Brendan Rodgers' side show their attacking qualities.

“What a result from Leicester City,” Taggart commented on the Matchday Live post-match show. “The pressure was on coming into this game. Both teams were struggling for a little bit of form.

“The one thing you need when you’re struggling is that determination to work hard and try and get a result and that was the basis of today’s win. They outworked Manchester United and in-between all that there were four unbelievable goals.

“Leicester ran out victors because they outworked, outmuscled and outfought Manchester United, who were guilty, at times, of just playing football for footballing reasons, going nowhere. Leicester didn’t sit on their laurels and worry about that.

“They were on the front foot, they got into their faces, they upset United and when it really mattered, produced the goods – and what goods they did produce today. There were some unbelievable strikes this afternoon.”

Further analysing the performance, Taggart referenced the end-to-end nature of the contest, singling out several players for praise, but also highlighting the team ethic involved in collecting three points against a side with a formidable away record. Manchester United were unbeaten in 29 league games on their travels before Leicester’s triumph.

He continued: “It was a fabulous game of football. I thought Leicester were excellent from the word go and particularly [Kelechi] Iheanacho in the first half, he just unsettled Harry Maguire.

“Obviously [Jamie] Vardy was working on [Victor] Lindelöf on the other side and they just couldn’t cope. They go in at 1-1 after Manchester United take the lead but it was fairly even in the second half.

“It was a well-drilled Leicester side at the back and that was the platform today as well as having Jonny Evans back in the team. I thought [Boubakary] Soumaré in midfield was excellent. [Youri] Tielemans as well. They just held their own in midfield.

“Up front, you know what you’re going to get with these two. We’ve spoke about playing these two together. The tactics that Brendan Rodgers sent those players out with have worked an absolute treat today. United just could not live with Leicester at times.”

While Tielemans produced a moment of magic to level the scores in the first half, it was City’s No.9, Vardy, who came up with the match-winning strike with seven minutes to play, as the Foxes instantly responded to United’s equaliser.

Taggart explained: “It’s [Ayoze] Pérez with the ball into the box, he just flicks it back almost towards Vardy in line with the penalty spot. He then unleashes a half-volley, and it just rifles into the far corner of the net. An unbelievable strike.

“They’ve just been hit with a sucker-punch of [Marcus] Rashford scoring. Rashford’s goal was from absolutely nowhere, but they score.

“And straight from the kick-off they are probably just trying to get back into some kind of rhythm at that moment. When you least expect something like that to happen, it happened. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

“When that goal goes in and the manner that it goes in, everyone can be forgiven for losing their heads for a few seconds.”

The ex-City captain believes Leicester can now use the triumph to head into Wednesday’s UEFA Europa League clash with Spartak Moscow with added confidence and belief following a tough spell of form.

“On top of having the fans back, what a big game today was,” the Northern Irishman added. “Forget about it being Manchester United, it was big because everyone who supports Leicester was desperate for them to get a win and get over the line - we hadn’t seen it for a few weeks.

“You have to take all the positives you can out of this game, which there are many, to move on to the next game. But the next game is only around the corner. It’s a European game in Moscow.

“Who knows what to expect when the players go over there? But the confidence from beating Manchester United, it’s absolutely immense. You can’t underestimate how big a confidence boost and a step forward this one result is for Leicester City.

“That’s how monumental this result is.”