Manchester United stunned most football pundits and fans when they decided to fly from Manchester to the city of Leicester to play against Leicester City.
Manchester and Leicester are two cities in England that share the same boundary. From Old Trafford to Kings Power stadium is around 100 miles (160.934 kilometres).
Hence, Manchester United players and coaching staff were expected to travel by road or train to the city earlier today, October 16, 2021. Instead, the team decided to travel to the city by air.
Manchester United reportedly said they had to fly to Leicester due to “circumstances”. Before they took off from Leicester City, there were reports that there was traffic congestion on the M6 road linking Leicester City.
The Manchester United and Leicester City Premier League game will kick off at 15:00 later today, October 16.
A win in the game could take Manchester United to the top of the league table pending the outcome of other league games. If Leicester City beat United, they could move from the 13th spot to the 10th spot on the league table.
Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gives an update on Rashford, Raphael Varane, and Harry Maguire
The coach of United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told the club’s forward Marcus Rashford to focus more on football.
The 23-year-old football star has been very prominent in his drive to feed poor children in the United Kingdom and has been highly celebrated for it. He earned a British national honor, MBE in 2020 for his effort to feed poor children for free.
But coach Solskjaer said the forward is at the age where he is expected to achieve more in his football career and he should seize the opportunity to do so at Manchester United.
The coach said: “He is coming into the best age for a footballer and he’s got a challenge on his hands here at Manchester United – and has a challenge on his hands to play for England.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United would be without their two best defenders, Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire who are battling to regain their fitness.
In a pre-match press conference ahead of the United clash with Leicester City, coach Solskjaer confirmed that Varane and Maguire might be replaced by Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly in the defense.
The coach said: “Yeah, you know the international breaks, sometimes it’s a time to cross your fingers and hope for the best because as we see with Raphael, he’s got an injury, out for a few weeks, but then again Victor [Lindelof] and Eric [Bailly] played in the internationals and got good game-time so that was good for us.”
Clinical: @MarcusRashford 🎯
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 15, 2021
Instinct: @B_Fernandes8 ⚡️
Our ✌️ strikes last time out at Leicester in the #PL 💥#MUFC | #LEIMUN pic.twitter.com/FCtWI2yBwZ
