Valencia: United Have Learned From Leicester Loss

Memories of September’s 5-3 defeat at Leicester City are still fresh for Antonio Valencia, though the Ecuadorian insists the Manchester United players learned invaluable lessons from that tumultuous afternoon at the King Power Stadium.

United were 3-1 up after 57 minutes and cruising to a fine away win until a controversial penalty inspired a dramatic four-goal turnaround for the Barclays Premier League new boys. The loss at Leicester provided a timely reminder that it was still early days for a team adapting to new methods and new management.

"My team-mates had put in a really great effort to get the score to 3-1," Valencia recalls in United Review, the official programme for Saturday's return match against Leicester.

"After that we had the bad luck of conceding goals and to lose 5-3 after leading 3-1 was sad. It hurt us as players but the saddest thing was to see [the effect it had on] our fans. 

"Four months have passed now and we need to lift our heads up. I am more than sure that we have all learned a lesson from that day: that the games are 90 minutes long and that you need to be focused until the end."

United have since lost only two of 19 matches in all competitions and Valencia credits this to an improved team spirit. Friendships and strong bonds have been forged, and this togetherness could help to extract three points from today’s Old Trafford encounter with the Foxes.

"The team is increasingly stronger and more together," affirms Valencia. "We are working as a team and that is good. I am more than sure that Leicester will face a different United this time around. We are playing as a team, we are fighting, we are playing at home with our fans and we want to win."

Full Time

[1-0] Van Persie 27'
[2-0] Falcao 32'
[3-0] Morgan (OG) 44'
[3-1] Wasilewski 80'

News Flash

Antonio Valencia has a message ahead of this weekend's game against Leicester...

Smalling's Dressing-Room Neighbours

Chris Smalling reveals who sits near him in the Aon Training Complex dressing room...

I sit in the right-hand corner next to Jonny Evans. Ben Amos used to be next to me, but he moved because he kept leaving his wet gloves on the side - we pushed him over to the goalkeeper corner! I was also next to Danny Welbeck, but his place has been taken by Jesse Lingard, and Tyler Blackett is next to him – it’s quite a young corner, but it’s also a fun corner to be in.

Daley Blind is next to Tyler and Michael Carrick is next to him, so it’s a good corner and a tidy one too! Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney tend to be pretty loud in their corner, but ours probably rivals theirs.

You get to know people better when you sit next to them every day, and I think that goes for the whole dressing room - everyone gets on well. We’ve had quite a few new players and youth players coming through and it’s been easy for everyone to gel together.

The dressing room is always pretty lively. We all come in around a similar time and there are always lots of jokes. Sometimes there will be socks thrown around so it’s good to be able to see everyone from our corner! You have around an hour to prepare before training and everyone is always in good spirits. It helps that we’re in good form and we want to keep it going.

Mata's Mission

"Good results are the best reward for you, I know, that’s why we are already focusing on the game against Leicester City at Old Trafford at the weekend. The previous match with them left us with a bad taste; we want to change that and offer a good game to our crowd."

- Juan Mata

26/01/2015 12:33, Report by Juan Mata

Mata aims To Avenge Shock Leicester Loss

Each week, Juan Mata pens his blog, and today he's looking forward to being back out on the pitch after being rested for the trip to Cambridge...

Hi everyone. Time flies! It seems it was yesterday when I stepped out at Carrington for the first time, when I met my team-mates and had the first training session with them. Twelve months have gone by since then, and the truth is I feel like everything has passed really fast.

In this 365 days I have lived many special moments, with a lot of good times and some disappointments too, but I have always felt privileged for being where I am. The United staff, the fans and my team-mates have been fantastic with me since the very first day, and it's because of them that Manchester United is such a great and important club worldwide. For all these reasons and many more I want to thank you all and to keep the same mentality that I had when I came here: to compete, to get better and to do my bit for the benefit of the team and the club.

Good results are the best reward for you, I know, that's why we are already focusing on the game against Leicester City at Old Trafford at the weekend. The previous match with them left us with a bad taste; we want to change that and offer a good game to our crowd.

As you know, last Friday we drew with Cambridge in the FA Cup. It was a very physical game, played in tricky conditions, and now there will be a replay at home to try to get to the next round. On paper, it may seem easy to beat a team of a lower division. It is not. We just have to take the example of Saturday, with two big clubs being knocked out at home. It reminds us that the FA Cup is full of surprises. Also, it should be a warning sign for us ahead of our replay.

Thank you once again for being there, day after day, week after week and year after year. I have lived a lot of things in my first year in Manchester United, I'm very happy and I hope both you and me enjoy great moments in the future. Thank you with all my heart! Have a nice week!

Hugs,

Juan

Lingard Backs His Ability To Succeed

Jesse Lingard is backing his ability to break into Manchester United's first team, despite the intense competition for places in Louis van Gaal's line-up.

The 22-year-old has recovered from a knee operation and was influential in Monday's Barclays Under-21 Premier League win over Liverpool. After being on the first team's bench for the recent match at Yeovil Town, the 2011 FA Youth Cup winner believes the time is right to catch the manager's eye again.

"It's obviously amazing to be back," Lingard told MUTV. "It's been good and to get the three points is the cherry on the top really because it was against Liverpool.

"I think I'm very close now [to full fitness]. I started the Norwich game and played about 70 minutes but began cramping up. I had a behind-closed-doors game and played the full 90 minutes in that, and another 90 minutes here, so I feel really good.

"The physios and backroom staff worked with me from day one to get the knee right. I don't think the boss wanted to rush me into any games really, especially as he said I would come back at the end of the December when, in fact, it was the start [of the month]. I thought the boss didn't want to rush me and now I feel it's the right time to get back playing."

Lingard started van Gaal's first competitive fixture - at home to Swansea City last August - in a right-sided wing-back position but on Monday night he played at the tip of a diamond formation against Liverpool, his favourite role.

Transfer News : Potensial Signing

Aleksandar Dragovic is 'on the verge' of completing a £15 million move to Manchester United - after snubbing a possible move to Arsenal. He's 23-year-old.

The Metro claims United have turned to Dinamo Kiev star Dragovic in the last few days, with Louis van Gaal desperate to sign a quality centre-back before the window shuts. Should ManUtd go all in for this guy?

The Telegraph

Antonio Valencia: Top Four Battle Ahead

Manchester United have gradually improved to break into the Barclays Premier League's top four – but Antonio Valencia warns the hard work starts here.

After a slow start to the season, a run of one defeat in 13 league games has lifted Louis van Gaal’s men to fourth place in the table, two points behind Southampton.

But with Arsenal breathing down the Reds’ necks, and games against several other teams at the top still to be played, there’s a battle ahead to secure a Champions League spot.

"It’s very open and quite tight in those top spots," Valencia told MUTV. "We’re seven points behind second place and then a couple of teams are three or four points below us.

"We must fight hard in the remaining games to finish as high as possible. It’s a long season and we’ve picked ourselves up of late, so we need to keep the results coming for the fans.

"We’ve got tough games coming up against very good teams and rivals for our position but, if we keep the concentration high, we can achieve our aim of a top-four finish."

The summer arrivals of Angel Di Maria, Marcos Rojo and Radamel Falcao swelled the ranks of Spanish-speaking players at the club and Valencia feels they’ve integrated well. Indeed, the Ecuadorian senses the whole squad is pulling together in the same direction.

"Angel, Rojo and Falcao are terrific: they’ve all settled quickly into the group and I think they’re all really enjoying life here," Valencia said.

"We’ve got a top bunch of lads with Anderson, Rafael and all the English lads too. We all get along really well – [the atmosphere] is great but it’s always been great here."

Keane Can Emulate Former Owls Duo

Will Keane can emulate Ross Barkley and Connor Wickham by returning from a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday and proving himself in the Barclays Premier League, according to Owls boss Stuart Gray.

The Manchester United striker made his debut in Tuesday's goalless draw with Birmingham City at Hillsborough and performed well despite being substituted on 75 minutes after sustaining a facial cut that required stitches.

Lewis Baker, who scored against the Reds in the Under-21 Premier League final at Old Trafford last term for Chelsea, is also with the South Yorkshire side and Gray has tipped both to come on leaps and bounds in the Championship.

"I thought they did well," Gray told Wednesday's official website. "Their ball retention was very good, with Will providing a good outlet up top. They are talented players and we are a good club where they can develop their game.

"You only have to look at the likes of Ross Barkley and Connor Wickham and how they progressed in their time with us, so hopefully Will and Lewis will do the same."

Barkley is a key performer for Everton and represented England at the World Cup finals, while Wickham played a major role in ensuring Sunderland escaped relegation last season.