Leicester 0-1 Manchester United: Red Devils make it three wins in a row after Jadon Sancho goal

The clouds have cleared, along with that sense of impending catastrophe which clung to Manchester United barely two weeks ago. They’ve won three consecutive football matches for the first time since last Spring and though the chant that struck up near the end was for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it is Erik ten Hag who has seen them through to clearer skies.

The win reveals as little as any Premier League match ever can before the leaves are on the ground, though an exchange between two players in United’s own box, as the second half wore on, told us something significant. Diogo Dalot emerged from a tackle which had extinguished the threat of Harvey Barnes with the look of a man whose life had depended on it. He and Lisandro Martinez seemed like men possessed – and who actually enjoyed defending – as they proceeded to bumped chests aggressively.

This is the kind of impact that Martinez brings. He makes the United defence cohere and shifts the ball out of it rapidly, contributing to the kind of tempo that we had begun to forget existed in this team. When all’s said and done, the team are passing the ball more.

Jadon Sancho scored the winner at the King Power Stadium with a composed finish in a dominant first half from United

The 22-year-old has scored twice this season already and looks a much-improved player under Erik ten Hag’s management

Fans continued their loud and vocal protests against the Glazer ownership of the club during the 1-0 win at Leicester 

Cristiano Ronaldo made a difference when he came off the bench in the second half and went close with an acrobatic effort

There is by no means a universal sense of unity and harmony, even with the latest expensive piece in their new Dutch school, Anthony, now in place and a club record £280million summer spending behind them. The shouts of ‘We want Glazers out’ rang out intermittently all evening. Steve McClaren chewed gum manically. Erik ten Hag’s scribbled relentlessly with his surprisingly cheap pen.

But the method, precision and capacity to ease the ball between the defensive lines was clear from the start and not even the fraility and uncertainty of Leicester could dispel the impression.

Christian Eriksen was at the heart of the industry in the game’s early phases – a defensive midfielder in formation only, displaying his wonderful craft and playing with his head up to navigate United into positions of danger – even though his own shot from the inside left channel, ten minutes in, should have hit the target. Bruno Fernandes, playing on the half-turn, repeatedly released Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga down the United right.

The goal was no surprise – United gathering easy possession from a loose goal kick before Fernandes, in ample space to weigh up his options, navigated the ball to Marcus Rashford, who slipped it towards Jadon Sancho. As the forward made a diagonal run to take it on and ease around Danny Ward to score, you wondered whether ten Hag may be locating the Sancho we’ve always known was there.

There were fleeting Leicester moments in that first period but Jamie Vardy was an isolated figure. The muffled boos were ringing around this once vibrant place long before the sides departed for the interval.

Brendan Rodgers will be concerned at his side’s form after picking up just one point from their opening five games

It was not censure for Rodgers but for the existential risk this club’s executive management have decided to take with Premier League status. The programme notes by chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha provided a chastening, vaguely chilling sense, before kick-off, that Leicester are a club at a critical, potentially fateful juncture – unwilling to bankroll Rodgers after collective losses of £120million over the past five years which have left them fearing falling foul of UEFA’s spending rules.

It’s never reassuring when an owner feels moved to insist that the club is financially ‘entirely secure’ and ‘safe in my family’s hands,’ as the chairman did. ‘With the greatest respect we haven’t been given the help in the market,’ Rodgers said pointedly, last night.

His words to his players were equally significant. Leicester started the second half more brightly and began applying pressure. James Maddison struck a fine free kick which was arcing into the top former until de Gea leapt to claw it away.

Anthony Elanga repeatedly exposed the Leicester defence with piercing runs down the right wing in United’s narrow victory

It was certainly not second half electricity from United’s perspective, with Rashford still lacking impact, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival a necessary one. Ronaldo delivered enough in 20 dynamic second half minutes to confirm ten Hag’s assertion that he will continue to bring something to this club.

He had almost found a scoring chance for Eriksen when he laid back the rebounding ball to Rashford, who skewed it wide. He pleaded for the cross from which he despatched a bicycle kick wide. He made a difference. The question for Ten Hag is who, despite all that spending, will score the goals. Ronaldo still looks like the most prolific centre forward.

The Dutchman said last night that it was ‘too quick’ to say if United had turned the corner. ‘But they fight together and cooperate. That’s important. If you do that, you get the right scores,’ he observed. Something has been restored to this great old club. This Sunday, United face Arsenal – fifth v first – and the match might actually befit that legendary fixture.

James Maddison came closest for Leicester with a succession of free kicks and forced an excellent save from David de Gea