United View: Ruud’s emotional sendoff ahead of Amorim’s arrival

As he left the field following his final game as interim manager of Manchester United, Ruud van Nistelrooy looked to embrace the Old Trafford crowd fully.

Showing great appreciation as the fans who once sang his name as a player did so once again following his brief tenure in charge of the Reds. His time was short, but he did a remarkable job at steading the ship and, of course, getting the team scoring goals.

Comfortable wins have been hard to come by for Manchester United this season, but Sunday was a welcome change of pace. A 3-0 victory over Leicester City sees the Reds now four points off the Champions League places amidst the impending arrival of their new head coach Ruben Amorim.

The Dutchman remained unbeaten in his four games in charge, gaining the club’s first Europa League win of the season and progressing into the Quarter Final of the Carabao Cup. And whilst Leicester have had their struggles this season, Sunday’s win was an important one, leaving the Reds with a realistic chance of salvaging their campaign.

To his credit, the one thing that Ruud looked to have achieved was making United’s midfield look more compact. The duo of Casemiro and Ugarte looked to be growing in confidence and were solid against the foxes. Ugarte, in particular, won eight tackles in that match, the most ever in the Premier League match for a United player.

Amad Diallo followed up his standout performance against PAOK with another tenacious outing, even setting up Bruno Fernandes’ opener with a brilliantly disguised backheel. The Ivorian surely has to be in the plans of the new coach, looking like the Red’s best option on the right wing.

It was also a moment of brilliance from Alejandro Garnacho, coming off the bench to curl home United’s third. However, despite the phenomenal finish, the Argentine was hesitant to celebrate following criticism of his recent performances.

Speaking after the game, Bruno Fernandes spoke about the situation, saying, “Garnacho scored a banger, but he didn’t celebrate like he should because he thinks he lost faith from some fans.”

“I told him that people will always moan, but lots of people like you and enjoy what you do.”

It’s disappointing that a small section of the fanbase can cause a young player to feel like that. Garnacho is a special talent, and he is still very young, he isn’t the finished article and needs the patience to achieve that. But that goal just showed how much quality he has to offer, a fitting way to end Ruud’s tint at the helm.

He may be departing Old Trafford, but van Nistelrooy did a very respectable job, getting a warm reception from the fans for his service before his departure, something he never recieved as a player. And as sad as it is to see him go, it feels like an appropriate decision to align with the new coach and his staff.

So now it’s only a matter of time, before another new era at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim. He has certainly set high expectations, beating Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League, before winning 4-2 in his final game at Braga after being two goals down at halftime.

With a clear sporting structure in place and the first appointment under the INEOS banner, there’s a welcome sense of optimism back at Old Trafford. United will have to wait until after the international break before they can get a glimpse of how the team will set up, when they travel to Portman Road to take on Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town.