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Manchester United 1-1 Leicester City: 10-man Leicester earns point, but must wait for the trophy

NBC Sports

The Foxes had a chance to hoist the trophy at the Theater of Dreams.

It wasn’t to be, but they still earned a massive point – moving their magic number to just two – as Wes Morgan‘s equalizer was enough to cancel out Anthony Martial‘s opener pick up a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

Manchester United held much of the early possession down in Leicester’s half of the field, and while it appeared the Foxes were suited to deal with the pressure, the Red Devils unlocked the Leicester defense just eight minutes in. A wonderful move by Antonio Valencia on the right gave him space to lift in the cross, which went over the heads of Danny Drinkwater and Danny Simpson to the feet of an unmarked Martial at the far post, who poked home with an easy finish.

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Following the goal, United would not relent. Jesse Lingard pumped in a shot on 14 minutes after Marouane Fellaini laid off Marcus Rojo’s cross at his feet, but Kasper Schmeichel saved well at his near post.

But the Foxes would not slump to defeat so early. With a free-kick up near the penalty area conceded by Martial, Wes Morgan beat Rojo and headed home the equalizer on 17 minutes to bring it back to 1-1.

United continue to dictate the pace of the game, with Leicester happy to sit back and pick its spots. They had a big moment on the half-hour mark as Danny Simpson gave the ball away allowing Jesse Lingard to break, but the former Newcastle defender recovered and fought Lingard to the ball, allowing Schmeichel to clear the ball.

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Leicester had a moment close to halftime, as Jefferey Schlupp’s audacious effort from a tight angle forced an acrobatic tip from de Gea, which came to Riyad Mahrez. The Player of the Year winner went one-on-one with Marcus Rojo, and the two came together and went to ground. Leicester shouted for a penalty, but referee Michael Oliver waved it off.

After the break, the Foxes played a high press and earned themselves a pair of chances off set-pieces, but couldn’t put an effort on net despite finding free headers on both. Schlupp’s blistering pace was a force on the left, and Leonardo Ulloa began to trouble the United central defenders.

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The game opened up after the 70-minute mark, with both sides going for the win, but each half-chance was met with good goalkeeper or better defending. Manchester United brought on Ander Herrera for the final 15 minutes, while Leicester City countered with Marc Albrighton.

Chris Smalling hit the post inside the final 10 minutes, and things fell apart for the visitors. Leicester City lost a man when Danny Drinkwater received his second yellow card – both for drag-backs – when he pulled Martial down on the edge of the penalty area. The referee gave a free-kick, but replays showed the foul was likely inside the area.

The point for Leicester moves them to 77 points, eight above Tottenham with just two games to play, although Spurs has a game in hand, to play Chelsea on Monday. Manchester United, meanwhile, misses out an opportunity to keep pace with rivals Manchester City for the final Champions League place, four back of City who will play Southampton later today.