In his first match leading Man United as an interim manager replacing the fired Erik ten Hag, Van Nistelrooy helped the team make positive changes in playing style and spirit.
In the first half, the Old Trafford team scored 4 goals thanks to Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho and Casemiro (double). However, they also conceded 2 goals. In the second half, Bruno Fernandes scored another goal to seal a 5-2 victory for Man United.
"We scored some great goals, the first one was a great strike from Casemiro. I have to say we were a bit lucky too.
The ball hit the two posts before it got to Casemiro and Bruno's free-kick was deflected and went in, but it was the first time he had scored in a long time so I was very happy for him that he got two goals," Van Nistelrooy said after the match.
Despite the big win, the Dutch interim coach was still very realistic when looking at his team. He said that in previous matches against West Ham, Fernebahce and Brentford, Man United had bigger chances, but only scored few goals.
In the recent match against West Ham, the Red Devils missed many good opportunities, leading to a 1-2 loss. This is also an important reason why Erik ten Hag was fired.
Meanwhile, Leicester City coach Steve Cooper stressed that his team made mistakes, creating opportunities for Man United.
He said: "Man United are a counter-attacking team, they have really good players, we gave them too many chances to hurt themselves.
In the second half, we completely dominated. At times, Man United could not penetrate our half but then we conceded a goal.”
In the beginning of the second half, “The Foxes” (Leicester City’s nickname) pressed Man United. However, then, center-back Okoli carelessly passed the ball back, creating an opportunity for Bruno to steal the ball, trick goalkeeper Danny Ward to score.
This goal completely destroyed the spirit of the away team, making it impossible to change the game on the field. After the 5th goal, Man United created many other opportunities but failed to take advantage of them.
According to the quarter-final draw, Man United will play Tottenham away. The remaining quarter-final matches include: Arsenal vs Crystal Palace, Newcastle vs Brentford and Southampton vs Liverpool.
