Odion Ighalo’s Manchester United have secured their ticket to next season’s Champions League at the expense of Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho’s Leicester City.
Heading into Sunday's encounter at the King Power Stadium, on the final day of the Premier League season, the Foxes needed a win to guarantee their place in Europe’s elite club competition, regardless of the outcome between Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
However, they were brought to ground by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, who won 2-0 thanks to second-half strikes from Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard, with the Foxes’ Jonny Evans sent off for dangerous play in stoppage time.
It wasn't easy but we got the job done 👊
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 26, 2020
See you next season, @ChampionsLeague 😉#MUFC #UCL pic.twitter.com/gUjoM8bZ7C
Brendan Rodgers’ men had several chances to take a comfortable lead in the first half but they could not find a way through as goalkeeper David de Gea denied them on several occasions.
Nigeria’s Wilfred Ndidi fluffed a promising chance after Nemanja Matic gave away the ball on the edge of the Red Devils’ box, with Rodgers’ team dominating ball possession.
Next, it was the turn of his compatriot Kelechi Iheanacho to miss another golden opportunity as he scuffed a poor shot at Spain international De Gea when leading a three-on-two break.
Fernandes sent Anthony Martial through on goal and he was brought down by a combination of Wes Morgan and Evans, with referee Martin Atkinson awarding the visitors a record 14th spot-kick, the most any team has received in a single Premier League season.
The 25-year-old Portugal international sent Peter Schmeichel the wrong way to give United the lead after 71 minutes.
Leicester's frustration boiled over in stoppage time when former United defender Evans was shown a red card for a tired lunge at substitute Scott McTominay.
Lingard sealed the victory when he tackled Schmeichel and slotted home his first league goal of the season in the 98th minute.
Ndidi was on parade from start to finish while Iheanacho came off for Ayoze Perez in the 58th minute, while Odion Ighalo was a 90th-minute replacement for Martial.
Go on, @AyozePG! 👏#LeiMun pic.twitter.com/RnZgy3HvoS
— Leicester City (@LCFC) July 26, 2020
With this result, Rodgers’ men finished in fifth position after garnering 62 points from 38 appearances. They will now feature in the Europa League next term alongside Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur.