Van Nistelrooy guides Man United to 5-2 win over Leicester
- By: Brian Humphrey
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Ruud van Nistelrooy began his temporary reign as Manchester United manager with a thumping 5-2 win over Leicester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night.
It took the hosts 15 minutes to get off the mark through Casemiro before Alejandro Garnacho doubled the lead 13 minutes later.
United struck again through Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, while the Foxes netted twice before the interval through Moroccan midfielder Bilal El Khannouss and English defender Conor Coady.
Leading 4-2 at the break, the hosts capped a dominant second-half performance by adding a fifth goal through Fernandes.
Victory ensured United advanced into the quarter-finals of the League Cup, where they will face Tottenham Hotspur — surprise 2-1 winners over Manchester City in the round of 16.
A lethal goalscorer in his prime, van Nistelrooy was impressed by the performance.
“As coaching staff, we prepared the players and I have to say they were fantastic today,” the interim manager said.
“Credit to the team, they pulled off a great performance today, after difficult moments.”
Van Nistelrooy also admitted his side got lucky in the game.
“I have to say the chances we created against Fenerbahce and West Ham, also I remember at Crystal Palace, we created so many bigger, better chances than today,” he said.
“We had the luck with the post and the deflection. Sometimes, it’s what you need. It makes football a cruel game sometimes.
“As I said, we created much better and bigger chances in past games than today so, hopefully, the luck has turned today and we can build on this victory.”
United continue to pursue Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim to replace the recently sacked Erik ten Hag, with negotiations reportedly at an advanced stage.
The Red Devils will host Chelsea on Sunday in the Premier League, with EPL bookmakers installing them as slender favourites at +157 to beat the Blues (+158).
Leicester City will be at Portman Road Stadium on Saturday, with top soccer betting sites paying +126 for Ipswich Town to defeat the Foxes (+212).
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