Analysing Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s excellent display for Manchester United against Leicester City

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Manchester United managed to close the gap to the Champions League places to only two points after they beat Leicester City on Sunday. The Red Devils have been playing some great football recently, but they have continued to drop points, preventing them from moving up the table. They have scored the fewest goals in the top six and if they can correct that, they will move into the top four. This result is a significant one as it will provide United with confidence in attack, something that they desperately needed. Jose Mourinho continues to search for his best combination in attack, but he may have found it this weekend.

The star performer for the away side was Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is emerging as a key player for Manchester United. He started the year on the fringes of the first team as Mourinho had doubts about him. It could have gone two ways for the Armenian at that stage, but he chose to dig in and fight for his place, which bought him a lot of credit with his manager. He earned an opportunity and hasn’t looked back since, with some match-winning contributions. This was one of his best performances for United and he will have an important role to play during the rest of the season.

It was his goal that put Manchester United into the lead and they didn’t look back after that. He showed good pace to get away from the Leicester defence and took the appropriate touches to create the space required to get the shot away. It was intelligent play and capped off with a convincing finish past Kasper Schmeichel. Many have spoken about the importance of the midfielders weighing in with more goals and Mkhitaryan showed that he has the ability to contribute over the coming weeks.

The Armenian is more well known for his creativity, rather than his goal-scoring ability and he showed that side of his game on Sunday, as he got the assist for Juan Mata’s goal. It showed good vision and he found his Spanish team-mate expertly, to put the result beyond doubt. Throughout the match, he had a pass success rate of 88%, including three key passes. This underlines how he is reliable in possession and his ability to influence the game in the final third. He was a huge part in a lot of what was good about United’s play in the final third.

Jose Mourinho demands that his players work hard off the ball, especially attackers. It may not be the most glamourous part of the game, but teams are much better when they defend together, rather than carrying certain individuals. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has had to adapt to a different defensive style at United than he was used to at Borussia Dortmund, but he is doing his bit for the team. He worked hard defensively and completed two tackles during the match.

A lot was expected from Henrikh Mkhitaryan when he signed for Manchester United and it has taken him a few months to adapt to English football, but he is now ready to make a serious impact. United need to find some consistency in attack and score more goals to kill matches off. This match will give them confidence, but they need to show it more often. Mkhitaryan was the man of the match on Sunday and he is going to be crucial for the side over the coming months. If he performs like this on a weekly basis, Manchester United will finish in the top four.

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