Ella Toone ran the show as Manchester United kept some pressure on Chelsea at the top of the Women's Super League table on Sunday, comfortably beating Leicester City 2-0 to, at least momentarily, reduce the gap to the Blues to four points. The Red Devils weren't at full strength, highlighted by the absence of star striker Elisabeth Terland, but Melvine Malard deputised in the centre-forward role brilliantly, scoring one and assisting another as the struggling Foxes left the north west empty-handed.
That's not to say Leicester were easy for United to beat, though. Amandine Miquel's side might have lacked any real bite in attack, at least in part due to a flurry of injuries, but they restricted their hosts to very few chances at the other end. The problem for the visitors, however, was that United took their opportunities brilliantly when they came.
Malard's cute finish one-on-one, after Toone's precise through ball, and Leah Galton's clinical strike when the France international turned provider were two of just three moments of real note in the first half, with the other a strong shout for a penalty, when the ball struck Sam Tierney's arm in the area, that the hosts saw waved away.
Leicester grew into things more in the latter stages of the second half, with CJ Bott striking the bar and Tierney blazing a great chance over the bar from close range, but this was a relatively comfortable afternoon for Marc Skinner's side as they tightened their grip on a Champions League spot while doing their bit in case of any slip ups from Chelsea.
GOAL rates United's players from Leigh Sports Village...
