Three things we learned from Manchester United’s rout of Leicester

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United thrive without Rooney

Before the contest when speaking of the England skipper, Mourinho told the media: “If he has to go on the bench, he goes on the bench. If he has to stay at home, he stays at home.”

The Special One followed through on his word and didn’t flinch in dropping Rooney for the first time since Boxing Day 2015 in the Premier League – and the call could hardly have turned out better.

It took time for United to ease out of the blocks and into their stride, with a slow opening 20 minutes where they again looked slow, lacking in intensity and tempo, and short of ideas. However as soon as Chris Smalling got up to head in Daley Blind’s corner, it seemed to ignite a fire in the bellies of Mourinho’s players.

The extent of the difference made by the exclusion of Rooney is difficult to judge. The England man may well have thrived in the Number Ten role himself against a Leicester side who were complicit in their own demise, but a 4-0 lead at the break sufficed to say that Mourinho’s decision to dispense with the skipper was the right one to make.

It was Spanish international Juan Mata who pulled the strings behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic, flanked by Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford to add youth, spark and width to the United side in a game which Mourinho expected to be end to end and played at a high intensity. Mata however was the pick of the attacking quartet, a constant livewire throughout the contest and he took his goal in scintillating fashion, sweeping a curling shot beyond the despairing dive of Zieler before laying the ball on for Rashford to tap home. Mata’s influence in midfield was pivotal in United seizing control of the contest, the defending champions crumbling on the big occasion and not for the first time this season looked to miss the presence of N’Golo Kanté in the centre of the park.

Rooney eventually came on after 83 minutes, replacing Rashford on the left flank. The best role for the club captain will now be a topic under intense debate, as well as raising the question as to whether on this showing he merits a place in the side at all. This one match will not decide his United future, nor will United’s midweek Europa League tie against Zorya Luhansk, but Mourinho’s masterstroke paid off. In the grand scheme of things however, his future at Old Trafford may well be at stake. He was not dropped in favour of any of Mourinho’s new stars, but in a necessary move to reignite the fire of success in a United side that in recent games has been devoid of enterprise. When the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan return to form however, the prospects of the 30-year-old may grow increasingly slim. It is down to him to determine to his manager whether or not he really does merit a place in United’s side.