MANCHESTER, England -- Dropping Wayne Rooney had the desired effect for Manchester United.With its out-of-form captain on the bench, United scored four goals in a sparkling first-half display and overwhelmed champion Leicester 4-1 in the English Premier League on Saturday.Juan Mata -- Rooneys replacement in the No. 10 role -- Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba scored in a rampant five-minute spell just before halftime after United had taken the lead through Chris Smalling, the teams captain in place of the demoted Rooney.United ended a run of two straight league losses -- against Manchester City and Watford -- that had ruined its winning start to the campaign and led to widespread criticism of the makeup of Jose Mourinhos team as well as the coachs management style.Rooney bore the brunt of the criticism following his labored displays and Mourinho decided to put his 30-year-old captain on the bench in the biggest call of his United reign to date.Sometimes when I read you (in the media), I feel I know nothing about football, Mourinho said. But there is one thing I know -- the rules of the game. And I can only start with 11 (players).Mourinho said it was a tactical decision to drop Rooney, a day after saying the striker had struggled under the weight of media criticism since a poor display for England against Slovakia on Sept. 4.Leicesters defending clearly contributed to the scoreline -- three of Uniteds four goals came from left-wing corners -- but Uniteds attacking brio without Rooneys often slow build-up play was a notch above anything the team has produced this season.Today we had intensity, movement and dynamism, Mourinho said. To be back home and beat the champions is good.Pogba and Mata ran the midfield in front of the anchorman Ander Herrera, Zlatan Ibrahimovic floated around prompting play in his inimitable way, while Rashford was his usual busy, direct self and scored for the third straight game.Rooney, meanwhile, could only applaud from the bench as the goals flew in.Leicester was so overwhelmed in the first half that its two chief attacking weapons, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, were substituted at halftime with manager Claudio Ranieri in damage-limitation mode and later acknowledging he was thinking ahead to the Champions League next week.Ranieri blamed his teams first-half display on a failure to play as a team after going behind, and a lack of concentration at corners.We switched off, Ranieri said.A bright start by Leicester was stopped in its tracks by Smallings back-post header from Daley Blinds corner in the 22nd minute. For the rest of the half, it was United at its relentless best.With the new captain getting the first goal, Rooneys replacement in the No. 10 position got the second. Pogba clipped a short pass to Jesse Lingard, whose flick found Mata just inside the area and he fired home in the 37th.Mata set up the third, receiving a quickly-taken corner by Blind next to the byline and crossing low for Rashford to tap in. Pogba made it 4-0 by heading in Blinds outswinging corner for his first goal for United since returning as the worlds most expensive player.It was Pogbas best display for United.We want to carry on like this, Pogba said. I always say one thing -- its at the end (of the season) when we will see.Uniteds level dropped after the break and Leicesters reorganized forward line created more openings, one of which saw substitute Demarai Gray smash a diagonal 25-meter shot into the top corner.Rooney came on in the 83rd minute to applause, taking his place on the left wing, but the game was over by then.Daniel Mengden Athletics Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. George Hendrick Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/1045m-dustin-fowler-jersey-athletics.html . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Homer Bailey Jersey . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Ken Holtzman Athletics Jersey . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. NEW YORK -- After popping out with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, all Vernon Wells wanted was another shot to help make a winner of Ivan Nova. He got one all right: Ninth inning, bases jammed. This time Wells came through. He singled in the winning run with one out, helping a marvelous Nova and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Friday night for their season high-tying fifth straight win. "Given the way we played in Minnesota we needed to come here and continue that momentum," Wells said of the Yankees four-game sweep of the Twins. "It took a little while, but Nova kept us in the game all night." Nova (3-2) gave up a two-run homer to Matt Wieters in the second inning then stifled the Orioles the rest of the way in a spot start for Hiroki Kuroda. He allowed three hits in his first career complete game, struck out 11 and walked one. Baltimore closer Jim Johnson (2-7) took over the ninth with a 2-1 lead and gave up a leadoff single to David Adams. Brett Gardner reached when Johnson failed to field his bunt for an error in front of the mound. "The thing that really changed it was screwing up the bunt," Johnson said. "That was trying to do too many things at once instead of just taking the out." Ichiro Suzuki then sacrificed the runners to second and third and Robinson Cano was walked intentionally to load the bases for the second time Friday -- to vociferous boos. Manager Buck Showalter made a mound visit and Johnson promptly walked Travis Hafner to tie it. The struggling Wells then grounded a single past diving third baseman Manny Machado and ran toward first with his arm raised in the air. He was mobbed by his teammates and doused with a sports drink during an interview on the field. "Those are times like when you turn a triple play where you see the kid come out in us," Wells said. Manager Joe Girardi said Wells earned a start because he played well during the series in Minnesota, but he ended the night still hitting just .235. The Yankees snapped a five-game skid -- including a sweep last weekend in Baltimore -- against the Orioles this season. The Orioles have lost three of four. Johnson blew his sixth save of the season, and second in last four opportunities. Nova lost his place in the rotation after an ineffective start to the season and going on the disabled list. But he kept Baltimore off-balance all the way through. The 26-year-old right-hander came off the mound after getting the third out in the ninth to high-fives and pats on the back from his teammates. "Its unbelievable feeling the way Ive been throwing the ball lately," Nova said. "To put myself in the position I am right now." The Yankees steadiest pitcher since last year, Kuroda came through a bullpen session Friday without problems.dddddddddddd Depending how he feels Saturday, he could take his next turn in the rotation. Girardi said after the game Nova will "probably start again." The memory of the long homer Chris Davis hit against him last weekend in Baltimore may have caused Nova to throw a little too inside to "Crush" to start the second. After hitting Davis with a pitch, Nova gave up a drive to Wieters that bounced off the top of the wall, just out of the reach of Wells, and into the left field stands for a 2-0 lead. Wieters came in batting .429 (9 for 21) with three homers against Nova. But that was all Nova would give up, dominating the Orioles with a nasty curveball. Nate McLouths single leading off the sixth was Baltimores only hit after the second. Nova got some help from a steely defence. Luis Cruz, the latest fill-in for Derek Jeter at shortstop, made two nifty grabs of grounders and strong throws for outs in the third. Then second baseman Cano made a pair of difficult plays to keep the Orioles off the bases in the fourth inning. Cruz drove in New Yorks first run in the fourth with a single to left field off Miguel Gonzalez. Wells, on second base, slid into home just ahead of Wieters tag. Wieters slapped Wells high on the leg as Wells cleat scraped home plate. Showalter came out to dispute the bang-bang play with plate umpire Gary Darling. The Yankees then loaded the bases with one out in the fifth against the pitcher with the best road ERA (2.99) since the start of 2012 -- minimum 100 innings. They came up empty. Adams walked leading off. One out later Suzuki doubled to right field and Cano was walked intentionally. Gonzalez then fell behind 3-0 to Hafner before getting him to hit a fly to centre field that was too shallow for Adams to test Gold Glover Adam Jones arm. Wells then popped out to first base. Gonzalez was done after six innings and 104 pitches. He yielded one run and four hits, but tied a season high with five walks -- one intentional. "Miguel was fortunate," Showalter said. "But thats him. Hes going to bend, but not break. You give up four (walks), I think five with an intentional, you have to consider yourself lucky to get through that with one run." NOTES: Orioles LHP Wei-Yin Chen (right oblique strain) will throw Saturday or Sunday and the team will then make a decision. If he comes out without any issues, Showalter said he could be activated from the DL in five or six days. Showalter said a six-man rotation was an option after Chen returns. ... Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguezs third rehab game -- Class-A Tampa -- was postponed by rain. ' ' '