Manchester United signed off Ruud van Nistelrooy’s interim tenure in charge with a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City.
Captain Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring for United with an excellent strike from outside the box, before United added a second when the ball deflected off Foxes full-back Victor Kristensen and into the Leicester net. With the game comfortably in hand, United added a third in the second half through Alejandro Garnacho, whose stunning strike wrapped up all three points for Van Nistelrooy’s side.
After the upcoming international break, Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim will have been installed as United’s successor to Erik ten Hag, who was sacked last month.
And here are five things the incoming United boss will have learnt from the 3-0 win over Leicester City…
Van Nistelrooy steadies the ship – a should stay on as a coach
A legend at Old Trafford, interim boss Van Nistelrooy has only made himself more popular after having taken over from Erik ten Hag. Under the ex-United striker, they have won three and drawn one, with Van Nistelrooy having steadied the ship at Old Trafford in the wake of Ten Hag’s sacking.
Against Leicester, whom they beat in the League Cup convincingly at the end of October, they were the much better team again. There’s no doubt that Van Nistelrooy has left (not technically as it looks as though he will stay on as a coach under Amorim) United in a better place than the one they found themselves.
And United have a platform to build on
Feeding in from Van Nistelrooy steading the ship, Amorim now has a platform to build upon at United. They have won three of their last four games, and kept a clean sheet at Old Trafford in their last two Premier League games. Amorim now has the international break to get to grips with the players staying in Manchester this coming week before United face off against Ipswich Town on November 24th.
It’s been a disappointing season for United so far, but they still have plenty to play for. They’re still in the Europa League, and are only four points off Nottingham Forest and Brighton who sit third and fourth in the table.
Bruno Fernandes is United’s spark
When skipper Bruno Fernandes plays well, so to do United. The United midfielder was the best player on the pitch, scoring an excellent strike from outside the box. He was also heavily involved in the second goal too, getting into the box to get his thigh onto a ball that deflected off Victor Kristiansen and into the Leicester City net.
If Amorim wants to turn around United’s fortunes after Van Nistelrooy’s steadying of the ship, he needs to get the best out Fernandes, and find a place for him to thrive if he opts to switch to a 3-4-3 system.
Amad Diallo needs more minutes
Amorim also needs to give more minutes to winger Amad Diallo, whose back-heel pass to Fernandes led to United’s opener. The Ivorian winger did not get too many opportunities under Ten Hag, but looked lively and a threat throughout the contest.
With Marcus Rashford failing to consistently produce this term for United, Amorim may want to give Diallo more minutes on the opposite flank to Alejandro Garnacho, who scored a stunning second half strike, to see if he can kick on and become a consistent starter for United.
Not heading into the international break in crisis
United now head into the international break a team who aren’t being talked about as if they’re in crisis for the first time in quite a while. The mood at Old Trafford could be on the up, especially if Amorim can hit the ground running as United boss.
His first two Premier League games in charge sees them take on Ipswich and Everton before travelling to the Emirates to face Arsenal on December 4th, which will be an early test for Amorim to see just how fast he can work his magic at Old Trafford.