Van Nistelrooy praises Man Utd fight after signing off with win

Ruud van Nistelrooy praised Manchester United’s fight to earn a 3-0 win against Leicester City in his final game as interim manager.

The Dutchman took over after Erik ten Hag’s dismissal last month and went unbeaten in his short stint, winning three of his games and drawing the other, with Ruben Amorim set to take over from Monday.

Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho got the goals on either side of Victor Kristiansen turning into the back of his own net to earn United just their fourth Premier League win of the campaign.

United are now unbeaten in 19 straight Premier League games against promoted sides, taking 53 of a possible 57 points across these matches (W17 D2). Their last such defeat came away to Claudio Ranieri’s Watford back in November 2021 (1-4).

It is not yet clear if Van Nistelrooy will remain at the club on Amorim’s coaching staff, but the former United striker is proud of his short time in charge at Old Trafford.

“It was professional, you could see that players were fighting through the game,” he told BBC Sport. “We scored two great goals and there were some good bits, but we didn’t have real control of the game.

“I really enjoyed it [being interim manager], it’s been a short but amazing period. We are in an uncertain position, but we tried to do our jobs and help the club, which is important.

“There are a lot of feelings there, the way the fans supported me and the team always in difficult moments. It was a special moment. To close down this block of games with good results and a good connection, I can’t thank them enough.

You’ve done us proud, Ruud. pic.twitter.com/B29GnNMAsm

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 10, 2024

“We will learn what the plan is now.

“This spell was a big responsibility; I took it very seriously. I wanted to help and get United into a better place. That was my goal. With three wins and a draw, it’s a standard where you want to grow to as a club.

“The connection with the fans was there, I really felt it. This is what United is really about.”

Going into their match against Leicester, United had scored just nine league goals, their lowest-ever tally after 10 games in Premier League history.

Fernandes scored four goals under Van Nistelrooy’s leadership, having failed to hit the back of the net in the league before that, bringing up his 100th goal involvement in the Premier League with his assist for Garnacho.

“You saw the class of the team in our goals, we also gave very little away,” Van Nistelrooy added.

“We tried to stabilise after a difficult and emotional period. We wanted to get players performing at their best, we got the right feeling to them and got them to believe in themselves.

“It was an important three points. In the four games, Bruno scored some important goals, assisting too, so he is back producing. That’s the Bruno that is helping the team the most.

“I spoke to Alejandro Garnacho before the game, he has played a lot of minutes, and I wanted him to make an impact off the bench, and I’m glad it worked out. We said: ‘Let’s make the most of these four games’, get the maximum out of it and I think we did an OK job.”