9.23am EST 09:23 Full time: Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeep! A very entertaining game ends at th...
Full time: Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeep! A very entertaining game ends at the King Power Stadium with the sides sharing the points. Both teams will feel they should have won, a state of affairs that suggests a draw was probably fair.
90+2 min: Leicester win a free-kick wide on the right. The ball’s swung in, Pogba clears it and it comes back quickly. Ayoze Perez has his blushes spared by being flagged for offside when he misses what looks like a golden opportunity to win the game for the hosts.
90+1 min: In the blue corner, Maddison goes down holding his knee, gets a bit of TLC and is back on his feet again.
89 min: Marcus Rashford goes down with what looks like a groin injury – a six-weeker, in this non-doctor’s expert medical opinion. Manchester United have used all their subs, so he stays on for now.
87 min: Replays show Vardy needed a little help from Axel Tunazebe to equalise. His finish was less than crisp and took a deflection off the substitute’s knee on its way goalwards.
GOAL! Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United (Vardy 85)
He’s been quiet … too damned quiet. Jamie Vardy guides the ball past De Gea, converting a cross from Ayoze Perez, who is on as a sub.
84 min: Already on a yellow card, Bruno courts disaster with a late tackle on Jonny Evans … we’ll get back to this.
80 min: Edinson Cavani doesn’t take long to make an impact, playing Fernandes in behind with a nicely weighted pass. I think it was Jonny Evans playing Fernandes onside as he ran on to the pass on the edge of the Leicester penalty area before stroking the ball home.
Updated
GOAL! Leicester 1-2 Manchester United (Fernades 79)
Well colour me pink and call me Mystic Baz! Bruno Fernandes tucks the ball into the bottom corner after being teed up by Cavani.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes scores their second goal . Photograph: Carl Recine/Pool/Reuters
Updated
76 min: No goals in the second half yet, despite my promises earlier. Judging by the ebb and flow of the game, I reckon we’ll get a winner.
74 min: James Justin is on the deck holding his jaw after being caught in the kisser by a flailing Paul Pogba elbow. It was accidental as they contested a high ball. Manchester United substitution: Edinson Cavani on for Anthony Martial.
72 min: A blisteringly fast Leicester City counter-attack ends with Marc Albrighton sending in a cross that’s this much too high for the leaping Jamie Vardy. The winger signals his apology.
70 min: Free-kick for United, wide on the left about 35 yards from goal. Luke Shaw curls an outsawinger towards the far post, where Harry Maguire rises highest and heads over. He’s penalised for grappling Wesley Fofana, using the Leicester defender for leverage.

Manchester United’s Harry Maguire heads at goal. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
Updated
68 min: Jonny Evans makes a crucial interception for Leicester, stretching to intercept a Bruno Fernandes cross arrowing towards Marcus Rashford with his head.
65 min: Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy link up down the inside left, before Barnes squares the ball for Maddison. It’s tantalisingly out of reach for the midfielder.
64 min: Luke Shawe is penalised for laying hands on the lower lumbar region of Marc Albrighton between the right edge of the United penalty area and the touchlione. That’s a very soft free-kick.
61 min: Martial runs on to a ball from deep from Rashford and slots the ball into the bottom right-hand corner, only for the linesman to rule his effort out for offside. It was very tight, but the decision was correct.
59 min: An outstanding save from Kasper Schmeichel, who gets a strong right hand on a Marcus Rashford shot after the United man had been put through on goal and fired from 10 yards or thereabouts.
55 min: Manchester United threaten to embark on a counter-attack but James Maddison puts an illegal stop to Bruno’s gallop. Yellow card. United substitution from a minute or so ago: Paul Pogba on for Dan James.
53 min: Maddison tries to curl the ball over the wall into the top left-hand corner, but Rashford jumps and puts it out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.

James Maddison curls his free kick over the United wall. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
Updated
52 min: Leicester win a free-kick for hand ball, after a Fred backpass hits Bailly’s outstretched arm. It’s just on the edge of the penalty area, almost dead centre in prime Maddison real estate.
51 min: No chances of note for either side in the early stages of the second half but Leicester are bossing possession. Paul Pogba is about to come on for United.
49 min: Youri Tielemans hoists the ball into the Manchester United penalty area from the right, but Harry Maguire clears. United embark on a galloping counter-attack with a two-on-two but if comes to nothing.
47 min: From deep, Bruno Fernandes plays the ball wide to Marcus Rashford, who is dispossessed by a well-timed tackle from the very impressive James Justin.
Second half: Leicester City 1-1 Manchester United
46 min: Leicester get proceedings under way with no changes in personnel on either side. I’d put the farm on there being more goals in this game, if I had a farm. Right now I couldn’t tell you who’ll get them … but I will at some point.
Half-time: Leicester City 1-1 Manchester United
A fairly entertaining 45 minutes is brough to a halt by Mike Dean, with the sides level. United opened the scoring, with Marcus Rashford making up for his awful miss in the opening seconds. Harvey Barnes drew Leicester level and on the balance of play, the scoreline is probably fair.
45+1 min: Bruno Fernandes gets booked for a foul on Jonny Evans. He looks aggrieved, I’d need to see it again before deciding whether or not I feel his pain.
44 min: The camera cuts to the United bench, where Ole has his arms folded tightly to ward off the cold, his chin entrenched deep in his padded jacket.
43 min: Manchester United advance with Eric Bailly on the ball. They win themselves a throw-in deep in Leicester territory.
40 min: End to end stuff as Leicester have a free-kick halfway inside the United half that’s cleared, prompting a counter-attack from the specialists of the genre. Youri Tielemans mops up at the back for Leicester. Good defending.
38 min: Oh dear. Another chance goes a begging for Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes gets a bit too much forehead on the ball, heading wide of the upright when scoring looked easier.

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United heads towards goal. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/NMC Pool
Updated
35 min: So, that goal. Harry Maguire half-cleared a Marc Albrighton cross from the left and the ball fell to Bruno Fernandes. He gave it away to James Maddison, who picked out Barnes on the edge of the penalty area. The youngster shimmied this way and that, making room for a shot on the edge of the penalty area before spanking the ball home.
34 min: Leicester win a corner, which is cleared. Youri Tielemans is penalised for wafting his boot perilously close to the head of Luke Shaw and United have a free-kick just outside their own penalty area.
GOAL! Leicester City 1-1 Manchester United (Barnes 31)
Well, that’s awkward. Harvey Barnes restores parity, shooting from the edge of the Manchester United penalty area after stealing a yard of space. That’s a good goal.

Harvey Barnes fires home the Foxes’ equaliser. Photograph: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC/Getty Images
Updated
29 min: “They’ve just taken the pace out of the game. They’ve taken control of the game.” BT Sport co-comms man Glenn Hoddle sums it up nicely, talking about Manchester United.
24 min: Dan James was the provider there, although the assist will officially go to Bruno Fernandes, who stretched to control the Welshman’s cross, but merely touched it into the path to Rashford. Unmarked again about 12 yards out, the National Treasure made no mistake this time, opening his body before sidefooting past Schmeichel. That’s his 50th Premier League goal. I think. (Other statistics are available.)
Updated
GOAL! Leicester City 0-1 Manchester United (Rashford 23)
Marcus Rashford puts Manchester United ahead, side-footing into the bottom right-hand corner after getting on the end of a low cross from the right.

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford shoots … Photograph: Glyn Kirk/Pool/Reuters

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford scores their first goal. Photograph: Michael Regan/Pool/Reuters

Then celebrates with a knee slide. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
Updated
21 min: Leicester win a free-kick, wide on the right halfway inside the United half. The ball’s swung into the penalty area, where Youri Tielemans whacks it on the volley. His goal-bound effort is blocked by his own team-mate Harvey Barnes, despite his valiant attempts to leap out of the way.
19 min: Leicester City corner – Jonny Evans and Wesley Fofana make their way up the pitch. The ball’s played deep into the United penalty area, where Victor Lindelof thumps it clear with a firm header.
18 min: Leicester throw-in, down by the technical areas. James Justin ambles forward with the ball at his feet, plays the ball wide and Luke Shaw intercepts.
16 min: That said, Marcus Rashford’s missed chance really was a shocker. A free header at the far post from six yards … ouch.
14 min: A fairly even match so far, with neither side looking particularly superior. Leicester are probably edging it.
12 min: Leicester seem to have identified the out-of-position Victor Lindelof as United’s weak spot and are directing most of their play towards the Manchester United right-back position.
11 min: In the Manchester United goal, David De Gea seems to have done himself a mischief and is in some discomfort. He appears to have hurt his lower back. Dean Henderson is sent to warm up.
10 min: Jamie Vardy is put in behind by a ball from deep but messes up his one-on-one with De Gea, shooting narrowly wide. He was offside, it wouldn’t have counted.
8 min: David De Gea makes an absolute pig’s ear out of an effort to play out from the back, but gets away with it.
7 min: Timothy Castagne swings a cross in from the left after good work down the flank from Leicester. The ball is cleared.
5 min: Both teams have lined up with pretty much identical formations: four at the back, with two holding in front of them behind the respective parties up front.
3 min: Jamie Vardy misses half-decent chance for Leicester, volleying over after connecting with a James Justin cross from the right. It wasn’t by any means as easy a chance as Rashford missed, but he’ll be kicking himself. Game very much on!!!
2 min: Manchester United line up with a back four, with Victor Lindelof playing at right back. Up front, Marcus Rashford gets a free header on the edge of the six-yard box, but nods the ball over the bar. Getting on the end of a dink from Fernandes, he misses an absolute sitter!!!

Marcus Rashford heads over. Photograph: Richard Pelham NMC Pool

Rashford rues his miss … Photograph: Eddie Keogh NMC Pool

As does former Manchester United player turned pundit Paul Scholes. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters
Updated
Leicester City v Man United is go …
Mike Dean blows his whistle, Bruno Fernandes gets the ball rolling and play is under way at the King Power.
Not long now: The teams are out on the pitch and the last of the pre-match niceties are under way in a depressingly empty King Power Stadium. |In a perfect world, we’d all be at a game and looking forward to a visit to the pub but … well, deeze times. Here’s hoping we get a decent game.

The Manchester United players take to the pitch. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
Updated
Those teams: Jamie Vardy starts, which means Leicester field an unchanged side from the eleven who saw off Spurs last weekend.
Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is in for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, making only his sixth appearance for United this season.

Close but no cigar: Harry Maguire ensures that Getty Images snapper Marc Atkins narrowly misses out on what could have been one of
the great sports photographs. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Leicester City v Manchester United line-ups
Leicester City: Schmeichel; Justin, Fofana, Evans, Castagne; Ndidi, Tielemans; Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes; Vardy.
Subs: Ward, Thomas, Amartey, Fuchs, Mendy, Choudhury, Praet, Perez, Iheanacho.
Manchester United: De Gea, Lindelof, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Fernandes; Rashford, Martial, James.
Subs: Henderson, Tuanzebe, Telles, Matic, Pogba, Lingard, Van de Beek, Greenwood, Cavani.
Today’s match officials
Referee: Mike Dean
Assistants: Ian Hussin and Dan Robathan
Fourth official: Robert Jones
VAR: Graham Scott

Mike Dean will be bringing his unique brand of festive cheer to today’s game at the King Power Stadium. Photograph: Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images
Early team news …
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is expected to be fit, despite picking up a groin injury in his side’s win over Tottenham last weekend. Having recovered from the knee injury that kept him sidelined since March, Ricardo Pereira misses out again with a groin injury. Caglar Soyuncu is suffering from a similar injury and may also miss out.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær may have to plot without Scott McTominay and Aaron Wan Bissaka. McTominay picked up a groin injury during his bravura perfomance against Leeds last week, while Wan Bissaka missed United’s midweek League Cup win against Everton with some manner of unspecified knock.

The King Power Stadium, where Leicester City host Manchester United today. Photograph: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC/Getty Images
Premier League: Leicester City v Manchester United
Merry Christmas one and all, and welcome to our minute-by-minute coverage of the Boxing Day opener between Leicester City and Manchester United at the King Power Stadium.
Currently in second place, a point clear of their visitors, Leicester City can go within a point of the league leaders Liverpool with a win over United, whose League Cup win over Everton on Wednesday was their third victory in a week.
Kick-off in Leicester is at 12.30pm (GMT), but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
COMMENTS