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."
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