Manchester United legend Gary Neville was unimpressed with Jose Mourinho’s decision to send an injured Chris Smalling back onto the pitch prior to Leicester City’s injury-time equaliser.
Jamie Vardy opened the scoring for the Foxes at the King Power Stadium, but Juan Mata scored in either half to put United in the driving seat. Mourinho’s side had the opportunity to kill the game off shortly after but the likes of Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard could not make the most of their clear-cut chances on goal.
Eventually, it came to haunt United at the very end as Harry Maguire headed in the final goal in the 2-2 draw, and Neville was livid that Mourinho took the decision to resend Smalling onto the pitch to track his compatriot despite carrying a groin injury.
“I can’t believe that I’ve seen what I’ve seen there. I can’t believe he’s come back on. It’s an unbelievable cross. He’s gone back into the centre of defence to pick up Leicester’s best header of a ball. Maybe there are question marks over whether De Gea could come for the cross as well but it’s a sensational finish,” he said on Sky Sports h/t Metro.
Smalling had started to form a solid partnership alongside Phil Jones at the heart of the United backline, and the injury has come at a wrong time with United having to contend with three league games in less than a fortnight.
Mourinho played Victor Lindelof ahead of Matteo Darmian in the right-back spot versus the Foxes, and his persistence could see Marcos Rojo slot into the central defence with Jones for the upcoming set of fixtures.
Manchester United are already without the likes of Antonio Valencia and Eric Bailly with a hamstring and ankle injury respectively, but the latter is expected to be out for a prolonged period after undergoing a surgery on his problem.
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