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A reinvigorated Manchester United thrashed Leicester City 5-2 at Old Trafford on Wednesday to make the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup.
This was Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge of the club after he took temporary charge following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.
And the players seemed to play with much more freedom on Wednesday night as opposed to the rigid and chaotic style regularly seen under the former Ajax coach.
Interestingly, both midfielders, Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte, who had their gripes with Ten Hag, shone under the lights as they sent a not-so-subtle message to their former boss.
Bruno’s first goals this season
The Brazilian netted a brace, while Alejandro Garnacho also got on the scoresheet but fans will be most pleased to see club captain Bruno Fernandes finally back among the goals.
The Portuguese netted a brace, his first coming from a deflected free-kick while the second was an interception before he rounded the keeper to slot home.
The 30-year-old was the player with the most shots without a goal this season to show for his efforts, but not anymore. And Van Nistelrooy will hope that he can now kick on in the Premier League as well.
The Portugal international had 78 touches of the ball as he completed 86 percent of his passes. Most impressive was the fact that he completed four key passes.
He had two shots on target while two were blocked while one was off target while also creating one big chance for his teammates.
The skipper completed two out of three dribbles while also finding a teammate with three out of four long balls.
Lot to prove for Bruno
And as ever, Fernandes was competitive till the final whistle, winning all his aerial duels while making one tackle and completing one clearance (all stats via sofascore).
The former Sporting Lisbon star has to hit the heights of previous seasons as Ruben Amorim, who is expected to take charge, does not have a natural place for him in his plans due to his tactical set-up.
Fernandes has to ensure that the incoming manager has no choice but to either adapt or put in the attacking playmaker instead of someone else.
With Amorim’s arrival potentially delayed, Van Nistelrooy will be counting on his captain to keep these displays up as he seeks to help the club climb back up the league table.
Feature image Nathan Stirk via Getty Images