October 30th 2024.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was over the moon after his first game as interim manager for Manchester United. He couldn't have asked for a better start, but he admitted that his team was fortunate in their 5-2 victory against Leicester City.
Following Erik ten Hag's dismissal as manager on Monday, van Nistelrooy, a fellow Dutchman, stepped in as interim manager until a permanent replacement is found. The top candidate for the job is Ruben Amorim, the current manager of Sporting, but the deal is yet to be finalized for his move to Old Trafford.
Although van Nistelrooy's time in charge of the Red Devils may be short-lived, his reputation is already on the rise after their dominant win against the Foxes in the Carabao Cup round of 16. Casemiro set the tone with a spectacular long-range goal, followed by two more from the Brazilian, a brace from Bruno Fernandes, and a goal from Alejandro.
The United boss was elated to see his team scoring goals left and right, but he also acknowledged that they were lucky in some instances. He felt that their fortune balanced out the lack of luck they've had in recent games, where they created numerous chances but couldn't convert them into goals.
"I have to say that we scored some great goals, the first one was an absolute beauty from Casemiro," van Nistelrooy shared with Sky Sports. "I have to also say we had some luck as well. Two posts and it comes to Casemiro's feet. Bruno with the free-kick, it's deflected and it's in. Five goals, but as I said before, the chances against West Ham, Fenerbahce, Brentford, we created so much more, bigger chances and we couldn't finish, but all of a sudden we had some luck on our side and that made it a great day today."
Leicester did manage to score two goals of their own, but they were never able to threaten the home side as Manchester United quickly regained their comfortable lead. "I think it's always the target for us to react and go straight back to attack ourselves," van Nistelrooy commented on his team's response after conceding. "The reaction of the players after these moments were excellent and they deserved the credit for a good win and happy that the crowd goes home with a nice night of football."
When asked about his future as interim manager, van Nistelrooy admitted that he doesn't know how long he will remain in charge for. But he did take the opportunity to praise Casemiro, who he believes was a standout player in the game. "I was delighted for Casemiro, the way he's been training and helping the team, the club, it's such an example," he said. "I'm delighted to have him around and going through difficult moments... He got a lot of criticism after the Liverpool game."
Overall, it was a successful night for Manchester United under the guidance of van Nistelrooy. Fans can look forward to more exciting football as the team continues to strive for success under the interim manager while they wait for a permanent replacement to be appointed.
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