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Man United secure Champions League football with win at Leicester

Man United secured a top-four place, and with it Champions League football for next season, after...



Man United secure Champions Le...
Soccer

Man United secure Champions League football with win at Leicester

Man United secured a top-four place, and with it Champions League football for next season, after a 2-0 win at Leicester City this afternoon.

A Bruno Fernandes penalty with 20 minutes left on the clock and late goal from Jesse Lingard earned the visitors all three points, and a third-placed finish in the Premier League.

Chelsea were 2-0 winners at home to Wolves - that result confirms Frank Lampard's side join United, Manchester City and champions Liverpool as the English representation in the Champions League next season.

Leicester must settle for a Europa League spot - Jonny Evans and Wes Morgan combined to foul Anthony Martial as United were handed the penalty.

Portuguese midfielder Fernandes, who by his standards had a poor game at the King Power Stadium, cooly sent Kasper Schemeichel the wrong way from 12 yards.

The Danish keeper made a horrible mistake eight minutes into stoppage time at the end of the game to allow Lingard to slot home into an empty net.

Both sides had traded half-chances for much of the game, with Jamie Vardy going close on a couple of occasions for the Foxes.

An early yellow card for Harry Maguire, returning to his old club, meant the English international had to be careful with his tackles, while Marcus Rashford was stray with a number of passes in the opening half.

The game opened up late on, as Brendan Rodgers rang the changes and pushed for the win, but to no avail. A Demarai Gray free-kick from a dangerous area within the final 10 minutes hit the wall and went over.

In truth, David de Gea wasn't massively troubled in this cagey affair, although he did fumble a weak shot early on. The Spaniard took exception to Vardy's challenge on the ball in that incident.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer drafted in Lingard and Scott McTominay from the bench in the second-half to freshen things up, and ultimately they helped steer United towards the final whistle. Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo and Tim Fosu-Mensah came off the bench in the dying stages.

There will be serious disappointment for Leicester - they sat 14 points clear of United back in January, but only took nine points from their nine matches since football re-started.

Tottenham's 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace meant they earned sixth and a Europa League place, after Wolves' defeat at Stamford Bridge.

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Champions League Leicester City Man United Mufc Premier League