Having defeated Leicester 5-2 two weeks ago in what was Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first match as interim manager, Man United were on the hunt for what would be a crucial three points at home in the United legend’s final game in charge ahead of Ruben Amorim’s arrival at Old Trafford.
It was captain Bruno Fernandes whose creativity sparked his team to life, pushing them to a resounding victory in front of the Old Trafford crowd.
United were in the driver’s seat at the start, camping in the visitors’ final third. Amad Diallo showed great footwork early on, getting on the end of a through ball and dribbling through the left side of Leicester’s defence as he waited for reinforcements to arrive. Unfortunately, he was fouled, with Bruno Fernandes playing a rather wasteful cross into the box with his free kick.
15 minutes in, Jordan Ayew burst into the box, beating Lisandro Martinez to the ball before Casemiro bravely slid in to send the ball out for a corner. While a threatening cross, Matthijs de Ligt headed the ball out of danger, setting up United for a quick counter.
Then, a moment of magic arrived. Noussair Mazraoui took a throw-in to Fernandes, who passed to Amad on the edge of the box. The winger cooly backheeled the ball back to Fernandes, who curled his long-range effort into the far corner to hand United an early lead.
In the 24th minute, the visitors came close to equalising when Wilfred Ndidi got on the end of a threatening free kick. Andre Onana did well to catch the Leicester midfielder’s header.
11 minutes before half-time, Facundo Buonanotte almost broke through United’s defence, dribbling past De Ligt and Martinez; however, Mazraoui made a potentially goal-saving tackle.
In the 38th minute, United doubled their lead when Mazraoui’s thunderous cross slammed into the leg of Victor Kristiansen, who turned the ball into his own net. At that point, United truly looked comfortable with a two-goal cushion – a rare sight given how much they’ve struggled to score goals this season.
Two minutes into stoppage time, United were on a rapid break, with Amad showing his dribbling skills again as he cut past two defenders and weaved into the box. His strike was denied by a solid leg save from goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, bringing an end to what was an impressive first half of football from a composed United lineup.
United came out swinging in the second half, dominating the ball and constantly applying pressure to the Leicester defence, who appeared adamant not to allow more goals in.
54 minutes in, the visitors won a free kick outside the box. Marcus Rashford did well to intercept when they attempted to take the free kick short.
In the 57th minute, Jonny Evans replaced Diogo Dalot, while Alejandro Garnacho came on for Rashford. It was an interesting cameo for Evans, who was coming up against his former club, with whom he won an FA Cup and even captained on a stage.
Six minutes later, Facundo Buonanotte caught Martinez with a nasty challenge. Buonanotte was booked for his tackle, while Martinez was attended to by United’s medical staff. While the bench looked concerned over Martinez’s wellbeing, he managed to rise to his feet and make his way to the touchline, readying himself to return to action when permitted.
Ndidi tried to take advantage of Leicester’s superior numbers, threading a through ball into the box that Onana collected. This was followed by Martinez returning to the field.
Ayew took an opportune shot from the edge of the box that Onana parried out for a corner. The United defence did well to shut down the visitors’ attack, showing cool heads at the back.
With 20 minutes left on the clock, Garnacho sprinted down the left wing into the box, however, he lost his footing, missing a lucrative scoring opportunity that won’t come by too often. It appeared that the winger injured his wrist during his fall; however, he managed to continue playing.
Joshua Zirkzee made his way onto the pitch in the 75th minute, replacing Hojlund.
14 minutes from time, Garnacho received a through ball from Fernandes. Rather than passing to Zirkzee, who was calling for the ball in the middle of the box, Garnacho chose to go for glory, thumping his shot wildly astray.
In the 78th minute, Casemiro was substituted for Christian Eriksen. Old Trafford broke out into applause for the Brazilian, who produced an impressive performance.
Eight minutes from time, Garnacho showed just how lethal he can be off the bench. The Argentine received a long ball from Eriksen in the corner of the box, cutting inside and bending his shot into the far corner. A sublime strike from Garnacho to extend United’s lead to three goals.
Six minutes of stoppage time were announced, giving United some extra time to impress their local fans in what had been an impressive display up until that point.
92 minutes in, Amad took an opportunistic shot from long range that glided over the crossbar.
Overall, it was a phenomenal performance from United, providing a perfect end to Van Nistelrooy’s tenure as interim manager. The United legend did a stellar job of stabilising his team following Erik ten Hag’s departure, turning United’s form around and setting up a healthy environment for Ruben Amorim to enter as he assumes his new role at the helm.
Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Fernandes, Hojlund, Rashford, Amad, Casemiro, Dalot, Ugarte
Subs: Evans, Garnacho, Zirkzee, Eriksen
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
