On the day where we remember events more important than football, interim manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy left his tenure as interim manager with a 100% unbeaten record, after a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City.
There were strong performances all over the pitch, with our rejuvenated captain Bruno Fernandes particularly catching the eye on his 250th United appearance. The win still leaves United in thirteenth place, but only four points off the Champions League spots, and for the first time in a long time, there seems to be genuine optimism as we head into another international break
quality shines through after a tricky opening period
United lined up with Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo on the wings, and it was the young Ivorian that created the first goal.
United were lacklustre in the opening 15 minutes and the game was fairly even, Diallo looking like our main attacking threat. On 17 minutes he pressed high up the pitch to win a throw-in, which was taken by Dalot and then sublimely backheeled to Bruno by Diallo. Fernandes then let fly from the edge of the edge of the penalty area with a pearler of a low drive that found the far bottom corner.
Leicester then enjoyed a bright period and Ruud looked dissatisfied on the bench. However, the best they could produce was a Wilfred Ndidi shot hit straight at Onana when through on goal.
Twenty minutes later it was 2-0 United; an excellent Mazraoui cross from the left was headed goalwards by Bruno, subsequently being deflected in by Leicester Kristiansen and given as an own goal.
Cruising through the Second half
United exhibited good game management after half-time, and the Foxes never really looked like getting back into it. We made several substitutions, including brining on Garnacho for Amad, and on 82 minutes the Argentinian gave the scoreline some gloss with a sublime top-corner finish after more great work from captain Bruno Fernandes. The only slight negative was that he didn’t celebrate the goal much; has recent criticism been playing on his mind?
United coasted to victory and Ruud was given the send-off he deserved
Player Ratings & MOTM
Onana – 7: Made a great save from Ndidi and generally solid with a clean sheet
Dalot – 5: Made a quite a few errors, including positioning for Leicester’s best chance and was subbed just before the hour mark
Martinez – 6: Decent but made a few mistakes leading to dangerous Leicester moments
De Lift – 7: Solid – rarely troubled at the back
Mazraoui – 7: Yet another good display and set up the second goal
Casemiro – 7: Looked really good alongside Ugarte, especially defensively and has done for a few weeks – is Casi getting back near his best?
Ugarte – 7: His best performance for United so far; still some room for improvement with ball retention
Fernandes – 7.5 & MOTM: Scored one and effectively set two up, a typical busy Bruno performance
Amad – 7.5: Carried on his great form from the PAOK; looked our most dangerous player at times and the first goal was all about him winning the ball high up the pitch and the quality and creativity of the backheel
Rashford – 5: Got on the ball a lot but was often with the play in front of him, where he is reduced to crosses or playing backwards. Failed to affect the game
Hojlund – 5: Fairly ineffective and currently doesn’t look the right man for the system – will this change under Amorim?
Subs:
Evans (57′ for Dalot) – 6/10: Solid when called upon as usual
Garnacho (57′ for Rashford) – 7/10: Both sides of Garnacho were on display in his half an hour on the pitch: a bit wasteful in possession followed by a wonder strike
Joshua Zirkzee (75′ for Hojlund) – 5.5: Didn’t see much of the ball but a few nice touches
Eriksen (79′ for Casemiro) – 6/10: Brought control in midfield
Looking forward
It’s the international break next week, and then the week it’s the dawning of a new era under Ruben Amorim, when we travel to Ipswich, who just beat Spurs away in the league.
It’s not an easy game by any means, and the eyes of the world will be watching the young Portuguese boss as he tries to implement his ideas and tactics into an under-performing squad.
Watch this space…