Manchester United 3-1 Leicester City

Robin van Persie gives Man Utd the lead Manchester United scored three first-half goals to beat bottom side Leicester and move up to third place in the Premier League table.

After a slow start from United, Daley Blind set up Robin van Persie to break the deadlock with a precise finish.

Radamel Falcao followed up Angel Di Maria’s shot to make it 2-0 before Wes Morgan headed into his own net to cap a miserable first half for the Foxes.

Leicester belatedly replied through Marcin Wasilewski’s late header.

Louis van Gaal’s side were not at their best but they did not have to be against a Foxes side who offered little in attack.

United let slip a 2-0 lead and were beaten 5-3 when these sides met at King Power Stadium in September, but there was never a hint of a similar fightback from the Foxes this time.

Leicester concentrated on frustrating their hosts in the early stages and that game-plan was working until Andrej Kramaric allowed Blind to steal possession after a United attack had broken down.

Blind looked up and released Van Persie, who was given the benefit of the doubt by the linesman and adjudged to be onside before he expertly steered the bouncing ball past Mark Schwarzer.

Up until then, United had struggled to find any fluidity in their attacks and barely threatened Schwarzer’s goal.

But the Foxes’ 42-year-old goalkeeper was beaten again five minutes later after Van Persie sent Di Maria running clear.

Schwarzer did well to keep out the Argentina forward’s shot, but Falcao beat two defenders to slide in to turn home the loose ball from close range. BBC