As Manchester City lost 2-1 to Tottenham on Wednesday, Ruud van Nistelrooy had a successful start as Manchester United’s temporary manager, defeating Leicester 5-2 to go to the League Cup quarterfinals.
Manchester United’s Brazilian midfielder Casemiro celebrates with teammate Diogo Dalot after scoring their first goal during the English League Cup round of 16 football match between Manchester United and Leicester City at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on October 30, 2024.
After a terrible start to the season, the Red Devils fired Erik ten Hag on Monday, putting Van Nistelrooy, in the position of interim manager.
Although the English powerhouses are still negotiating with the Portuguese champions to settle on compensation for the 39-year-old, they have set their sight on Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim.
Portugal says that Amorim will stay with Sporting for the next three games before finalizing his transfer during the international break in November.
“I came here as an assistant to help the club. I’m helping as long as I’m needed and in the future, in any capacity, I’m here to help the club build towards the future,” said Van Nistelrooy.
“The reaction of the players was excellent. They deserve the credit for a good win and I’m happy the crowd goes home with a nice night of football.”
Prior to the match, the Dutch manager stated that Manchester United has the potential to be unbeatable when the players, coaching staff, and fans come together as a cohesive unit.
This was vividly demonstrated as they unleashed their full capabilities, scoring four goals in an exciting first half.
Casemiro’s stunning effort into the top corner opened the scoring before Alejandro Garnacho swept home Diogo Dalot’s cross to please a jubilant Van Nistelrooy on the touchline.
Bilal El Khannouss quickly pulled a goal back for the much-changed Foxes.
Bruno Fernandes’ deflected free-kick restored United’s two-goal cushion before Casemiro slammed home his third goal in two games.
Conor Coady grabbed another consolation for Leicester but United were not to be denied just a second win in nine games.
Fernandes rounded off the scoring when he pounced on a short back-pass to round Danny Ward and fire home.
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