Manchester United ended the Ruud van Nistelrooy era in style, thrashing Leicester City 3-0 in their Premier League game at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Bruno Fernandes finally got his first goal from open play in the league while an own goal handed the Red Devils a two-goal lead heading into the break.
Alejandro Garnacho, brought on as substitute for an ineffective Marcus Rashford, scored a stunning third with the hosts ending the day only four points behind the top-four.
The interim boss has certainly steadied the United ship after the tumultuous Erik ten Hag which yielded only four wins in the first 14 games. They have gone four games unbeaten, winning three of those games quite comfortably.
RvN has done a great job
The team have played with much greater freedom in all of the former striker’s games but the biggest positive of his tenure will be the fact that his arrival sparked certain players back to form.
Amad Diallo, who was tipped to enjoy a breakthrough season, was dropped midway into the campaign by the former manager and the disappointment showed in the Porto game as Antony was brought on ahead of him.
Under Van Nistelrooy, the Ivorian has looked a different player, much more dangerous as he has been given the freedom to express himself. Against the Foxes, Amad was a constant threat and should have scored after a brilliant run into the box.
Even in the case of the skipper, who had not scored under Ten Hag this season, has started finding the back. Fernandes has a goal involvement in every game of the interim manager’s time.
It is not only about the goals but also the solidity in midfield that the combination of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte have brought to the team.
Big stars back in form
The Brazilian had struggled under Ten Hag but looks a far sharper player now and his partnership with the Uruguayan stifled the visitors in the first half.
The former Paris Saint-Germain player, who hardly got chances in the previous regime, is now seeing more minutes which in turn has brought out his combative nature, and he won duel after duel on Sunday.
While Van Nistelrooy’s future remains up in the air, Ruben Amorim will certainly thank him for giving the club a lift which will allow him a better base to work with. He deserves to stay but Amorim will have his own ideas.
Not everything is perfect though, with there being concerns about goalscoring in general with the form of both strikers a major worry that the Portuguese will need to solve very early in his tenure.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
