Bruno Fernandes produced another captain's performance - scoring one goal, and assisting the others for Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho - as Manchester United extended their unbeaten run with a 3-0 win at struggling Leicester City.
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Man Utd are now undefeated in their last four league matches, and they claimed their latest victory with the minimum fuss at the King Power Stadium, where Leicester’s hopes of staying up were dented further.
Hojlund netted his first goal in any competition since December to open the scoring just before the half-hour mark.
And after seeing a goal disallowed for offside, Garnacho netted for the first time in the top flight since he scored in the reverse fixture back in November, before Fernandes wrapped up the points in style.
While Man Utd move up to 13th, Leicester remain in 19th place, nine points from safety following Wolverhampton Wanderers' 2-1 win at Southampton on Saturday.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
28 | +3 | 39 |
| 13 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
29 | -3 | 37 |
| 14 |
Spurs
TOT
|
29 | +12 | 34 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
29 | -4 | 34 |
| 16 |
West Ham
WHU
|
29 | -16 | 34 |
| 17 |
Wolves
WOL
|
29 | -18 | 26 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
29 | -34 | 17 |
| 19 |
Leicester
LEI
|
29 | -40 | 17 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
29 | -49 | 9 |
How the match unfolded
After Christian Eriksen curled a sensational attempt against the woodwork from a short-corner routine, Man Utd scored their opener in the 28th minute as Hojlund received Fernandes’ pass, rode a challenge and drilled a low right-footed finish across Mads Hermansen.
On his full Premier League debut, Man Utd defender Ayden Heaven made a fine block to deny Patson Daka before the break, though the youngster’s big game came to a premature end when he was carried off on a stretcher following the restart, after he fell awkwardly while preventing Daka from connecting with Jamie Vardy’s cross.
Garnacho thought he had put the visitors 2-0 up shortly after, but the assistant’s offside flag stemmed his celebrations, with that decision confirmed by the VAR.
The Argentinian eventually got his goal in the 67th minute, though, with his first-time effort catching Hermansen out at the near post.
Matthijs de Ligt’s brilliant block denied Facundo Buonanotte a swift response, paving the way for Fernandes to seal the victory late on with a brilliant finish from the edge of the box.
United duo get a much-needed goal boost
It has been a difficult second season at Man Utd for Hojlund, who has just not been able to get going in front of goal.
Indeed, before this match, he had not scored in the top tier since netting against Nottingham Forest early in December. Yet he displayed great composure to hold off his marker and fire in a crisp finish to break the deadlock midway through the first half.
Hojlund seemed to have turned provider when he teed up Garnacho to cut in on his left foot and curl in a low strike after the break, though the offside flag meant there would be no assist for the former Atalanta man.
Garnacho, though, ended a goalless streak of his own, and having two of his attackers back among the goals will be a real boost for Ruben Amorim, who will be targeting a top-half finish when the Premier League campaign resumes after the international break.
Fernandes, of course, had to have the final say. Having set up both of his team's first two goals, taking him up to 50 Premier League assists in the process, the playmaker swept home in the 90th minute to add further gloss to a big win.
No joy for Ruud against former club
In a real quirk of the record books, Ruud van Nistelrooy – who was in the Red Devils’ dugout when these teams met back in November – became the first manager to take charge of both clubs in a specific Premier League fixture in the same season since Alan Pardew in 2014/15 (Crystal Palace v Newcastle United).
Yet there was to be no joy against his former club.
The Foxes have now conceded 1,001 Premier League goals, becoming the first team to ship 1,000 goals in the competition in under 700 matches, but it is going the other way that Leicester’s lack of quality is really starting to show, too.
They have also become the first team in English top-flight history to lose seven straight home league matches without scoring, and that lack of a clinical edge will be a huge concern for Van Nistelrooy.
Leicester had their moments. Vardy had an early snapshot that he sent straight at Andre Onana, who was helped out by De Ligt when Buonanotte threatened to score soon after Garnacho’s goal.
Onana then made a big save late on to deny Vardy a consolation goal, and with Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool all to come in April, Leicester will need a huge turnaround in fortunes if they are to stay up.
Club reports
Leicester report | Man Utd report
What the managers said
Ruud van Nistelrooy: "Overall if you look at the metrics of the game, there's not much in it but I think in both boxes the difference in quality showed. The efficiency in finishing chances, and also defending key moments in the game. The gap [to safety] is nine points, it's big, but we can't and won't give up. We'll keep going and use all the possibilities we have to turn this situation around."
Ruben Amorim: "I felt a little bit of lack of energy but the players gave everything, and I think the lads deserved the win. We controlled the game. We could have been better with the ball but I understand that after these two weeks with a lot of games. It was a perfect way to end this week, with the win for our away supporters, they are amazing."
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Key facts
With tonight’s 3-0 defeat to Man Utd, Leicester are the first team in English top-flight history to lose seven home matches in succession whilst failing to score in each.
Man Utd are now unbeaten across their last seven matches across all competitions (W3 D4), their joint-longest run of the season.
Since Fernandes made his debut in February 2020, only one player in Europe's big five leagues has recorded more assists across all competitions for one side than his 80 for Man Utd (Kevin De Bruyne with 90 for Man City). Fernandes has now moved above Thomas Muller (79).
Following his goal and two assists in this match, Fernandes now has 112 Premier League goal involvements for Man Utd, the 10th-most for the club in the competition after moving above Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Portuguese international also became the sixth Red Devils player to reach 50 assists in the Premier League, after Ryan Giggs (162), Wayne Rooney (93), David Beckham (80), Paul Scholes (55) and Eric Cantona (51).