Man Utd 3 – 0 Leicester

Marcus Rashford scored twice as Manchester United beat Leicester City 3-0 at Old Trafford to make this his most-prolific season ever and move Erik ten Hag’s side within three points of second.

Rashford, who has now surpassed his previous tally of 22 with 24 goals, gave the hosts the lead against the run of play in the first half after a strong start from Leicester before doubling their advantage following a VAR intervention to overrule an offside.

Leicester collapsed somewhat in the second half and substitute Jadon Sancho added United’s third – playing in a new No 10 role after replacing Alejandro Garnacho at half-time – as Ten Hag’s side took full advantage of second-placed Man City drawing at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Marcel Sabitzer was fortunate not to be sent off for a high challenge on Leicester defender Wout Faes at the end of the first half and United had to rely on two huge saves from goalkeeper David De Gea in the opening 20 minutes as they rode their luck under early pressure from the Foxes, whose three-game winning run comes to an end.

United have made Old Trafford a fortress again under Ten Hag, extending their unbeaten home run to 17 games, ahead of the visit of Barcelona on Thursday for the second leg of their Europa League play-off game with the scores finely poised at 2-2. They then face Newcastle three days later in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

How Rashford broke scoring record against Leicester

Leicester exposed holes in United’s defence early on with Tete causing the hosts all manner of problems down the right-hand side. It could have been a different result had De Gea not produced two spectacular saves to deny Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho, equalling Peter Schmeichel’s record of 180 clean sheets for the club.

Failure to capitalise on their dominance soon cost Leicester as Rashford found the back of the net for a fifth game running with a powerful effort at an angle. The 25-year-old had a big pocket of space to run onto Bruno Fernandes’ pass after Faes vacated his position and took full advantage, powering past Danny Ward.

United’s vulnerability defensively was plain to see but they had a golden chance to double their lead before the break only for right-back Diogo Dalot to spoon his effort wide with an awkward attempt from close-range after Fernandes’ low cross to the back post.

Bayern Munich loanee Sabitzer avoided any punishment for a bad tackle on Faes in the closing stages of the first period. Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness said on Super Sunday: “I don’t care what some referee who has never played the game wants to say. That is a sending off. That is dangerous play.”

United asserted their authority in the second period as they pushed for a second with Ten Hag bringing on Sancho in a central position behind the striker. The switch soon paid dividends as Rashford scored a second following a VAR intervention to overrule the initial offside decision. He now has 16 goals in 17 games since the World Cup.

Sancho, whose introduction into the middle gave United a new lease of life, then got in on the act himself as he finished a slick move, meeting Fernandes’ low cross with his left foot to put the game out of sight for Leicester, who must settle with being 14th in the table and four points above the drop zone.

Rashford: I don’t feel like slowing down

Manchester United forward Rashford told Sky Sports: “I don’t feel like slowing down and always want to improve.

“It’s still early in the season, we’re fighting for a lot of different things and we have another big game in the week to hopefully go through to the next round of the Europa League and then a massive game for us [with the Carabao Cup final].”

Asked about the Premier League title race, he added: “We’re close but both teams in front of us are good teams and playing good football. We have to just focus on ourselves, do as well as we can and keep picking up points.”

Man Utd’s upcoming fixtures

February 23: Barcelona (A) – Europa League knockout round play-off second leg, kick-off 8pm

February 26: Newcastle (Wembley) – EFL Cup final, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports

March 1: West Ham (H) – FA Cup fifth round, kick-off 7.45pm

March 5: Liverpool (A) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports

March 11: Southampton (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm

March 19: Brighton (A) – Premier League, kick-off 2pm

What’s next?

Manchester United‘s attention now turns to their Europa League play-off second leg against Barcelona, with the Spanish league leaders visiting Old Trafford on Thursday; kick-off 8pm.

Erik ten Hag’s side then take on Newcastle United at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 4.30pm.

Leicester City are next in action on Saturday when they host Arsenal; kick-off 3pm. Brendan Rodgers’ side then face an FA Cup tie at home to Blackburn on Tuesday February 28; kick-off 7.30pm.