Ruben Amorim watched his Man Utd side get back-to-back victories by scoring 7 and conceding 1 in a matter of a couple of days as his team got a routine win over relegation-threatened Leicester.
It ended up being as straightforward as many suspected which isn't something we often associate with United. It's a rare thing to see us win and win so comfortably.
The manager did make some changes to the starting XI stating that it's rotation rather than anything more given the amount of games we've played in recent times. It was still a strong side and did the job pretty well in the end.
An uneventful opening to the game as both sides never really took the initiative however, after a short corner, Eriksen decided to hit one from the edge of the box which ended up hitting the bar! What a goal that would've been.
This seemed to spark United into some life as thereafter, we began to be more on the front foot.
This showed as half-an-hour in, a man who was desperate for goal in Hojlund finally, finally managed to break his drought. The Dane was played through by none other than Bruno before displaying some confidence to take the defender on and finish it off with his weaker right-foot.
A driving finish into the bottom corner to give the 'keeper no chance followed. More than anything, this looked like a confident strike. Perhaps his great performance on Thursday gave him that belief for this match.
United dominated possession and controlled the rest of the half with young Heaven in particular looking exceptional after starting two straight games. He made some important late challenges to prevent Leicester from having good chances of their own.
The referee then blew for halftime with Amorim no doubt really pleased with what he saw for that half.
However, as ever with United, there always seems to be something.
Heaven was the man of the match in the first 45 yet just a couple minutes into the second, he writhes in pain after a 50-50 with Patson Daka to stop the Foxes' player from having an opportunity at the back post.
Another piece of top defending but at what cost?
The injury appeared to be to his ankle after looking at where he was holding his leg. The challenge was so bad that they didn't even show the replay 😬.
It looked like it could be a season-ender. Another one 😐.
De Gea once said we're crused. Maybe he was right.
Every time a player goes down, I feel like that is their season done. It just has that feel now.
While that injury was a major negative, it was the only negative in an otherwise professional performance.
We all thought that Garnacho then made it 2-0 but he was flagged offside after straying a little. The forward didn't have to wait long though as on the 67th minute, he makes it 2-0. The goal stands.
Two players in Hojlund and Garnacho whom both needed a goal after not having scored in over 20 games got those goals they desperately needed.
Amorim made some changes following the doubling of the lead with Garnacho being one of them to come off. Amass was brought on on his 18th birthday.
The away side did back off a little in the second half and looked to pick their hosts off in transitions. It was a tactic that paid off as in the final minute of regulation time, who else but the magnifico to make it 3-0.
A lovely switch of play by Casemiro to Dalot - who now moved to the right with that Amass substitution - saw the RWB actually be direct for once. He took on his defender, skipped passed him, picked his head up and played the right pass.
That cutback was perfect for the captain to hit it first time. He made no mistakes and capped off another wonderful performance. A goal and 2 assists means that Bruno is now the only player to have 50+ goals and 50+ assists in the Premier League since Wayne Rooney.
Magnifico ✨.
Ruben Amorim couldn't have asked for more in terms of that performance which carried on from the good work done by his players after Real Sociedad. He wanted to see that consistency and that is what he got.
Leicester hardly created anything and when they did, his defense dealt with it well and forward players who needed a goal got their goals which will give them confidence.
He also rotated the team and gave minutes to those who needed it and a rest to those who warranted that as well all the while not having any issues in this match.
The Heaven injury is the only con in an otherwise perfect day for United.
Ratings
Onana - 6.5
De Ligt - 7
Lindelof - 6
Heaven - 7
Mazraoui - 6.5
Ugarte - 6.5
Bruno - 8.5 MOTM
Dalot - 6.5
Garnacho - 6.5
Eriksen - 5
Hojlund - 6.5
Collyer - 6.5
Casemiro - 6
Amass - 6
Zirkzee - 6
Obi - 6
Ruben Amorim - 7.5
Final Thoughts
Really nice to have a simple win. We don't often get this with United in that we have back-to-back victories, scored a few goals, kept a clean sheet, players performing and scoring.
With a long break until the next game, the last thing we would've wanted was to go into this three week period on the back of a poor performance and result.
Thank goodness that wasn't the case 🙌.
It is now about building upon this and being more consistent in the future.
And Loserpool lost to cap it all off 🤣🤣.
Background Image: Rasmus Hojlund scores first goal in 21 games against Leicester | Leicester 0-3 Man Utd | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)