Manchester United enjoyed a brilliant Sunday as Marcus Rashford’s two goals maintained their impressive form under Erik ten Hag.
Rashford scored twice as United comfortably beat Leicester 3-0 at Old Trafford to move within three points of Manchester City in the Premier League title race. Jadon Sancho grabbed the third goal after coming on as a second-half substitute as United built on their 2-2 draw with Barcelona in midweek.
Erik ten Hag’s decision to switch up the formation at half-time also paid off, leaving United full of confidence going into the second leg against Barca on Thursday.
Here are the talking points surrounding the club after their win over the Foxes.
Rashford makes title claim
Rashford has now scored 24 goals this season – the most of any campaign for United, with three months left to increase his tally. And the United striker’s confidence is not just manifesting itself in front of goal – he also believes in the club’s chances in the title race.
United have not won the Premier League since 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge, but they are now just three points off City in second place, and five off leaders Arsenal, who do still have a game in hand.
"Obviously, we are there, we are close," Rashford told Sky Sports of his side's title credentials. "At the same time, both teams in front of us are really good teams and they are playing good football at the minute as well."
Takeover latest
It is not just about what is happening on the pitch at United at present, there is also the takeover to keep an eye on.
The Glazers’ soft deadline passed at 10pm on Friday, with the bidders making themselves known to Raine Group, who are handling the process for the United owners.
We now know that Qatari citizen Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is interested, as is Sir Jim Ratcliffe and American hedge fund Elliott Investment Group.
However, it seems the reported interest from Saudi Arabia has dried up. As of Sunday night, there had been no official bid from any consortium from the Middle Eastern country.
De Gea matches Schmeichel
De Gea had an excellent game against Leicester, producing two incredible stops to keep out efforts from Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho – and his performance saw him reach an important landmark.
The clean sheet was De Gea’s 180th in a United shirt, which means he has equalled Peter Schmeichel’s record tally of clean sheets for the club.
De Gea’s 180th came in his 520th appearance for the club, with 564 goals conceded altogether. That tally is the same as the legendary Schmeichel, who kept 180 clean sheets in 386 appearances while playing for the club between 1991 and 1999.
