Manchester United kick off post-Erik ten Hag era with ...

By the 39th minute of the Carabao Cup last 16 tie, United led 4-1 - the first time they had scored four goals in a first half since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer masterminded a 9-0 win over Southampton in February 2021 - and even if he makes way in the United dug-out for Ruben Amorim before the end of the week, van Nistelrooy and supporters will always have that memory.

Amorim, the Sporting Lisbon manager, edged closer to becoming a permanent successor to Erik ten Hag as talks continued between the Portuguese club and United upper management designed to bring the 39-year-old to Old Trafford as quickly as possible.

A €10 million compensation fee has been agreed, as has a contract with the coach himself, according to Portuguese reports, that will cost United just over £6 million a year and run until the summer of 2027.

United still hope to have him in place for Sunday and the visit of in-form Chelsea to Old Trafford, although complications have arisen over a “notice period” that Amorim is understood to have written into his deal with the Portuguese champions, although the English club do not see this being too problematic.

A further complication lies in the fact that Sporting face United’s neighbours City in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the two clubs currently tied on seven points in the expanded table. But United are still quietly confident they will get their man by Sunday, no bad thing looking at the degree of difficulty of upcoming fixtures.

Starting with Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup stroll against a weakened Leicester, six of United’s next seven fixtures are at Old Trafford - a visit to struggling Ipswich the only away game in that run.

RUUD HEALTH: Leicester City manager Steve Cooper and Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy (right) during the Carabao Cup fourth round match. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.

Chelsea represent a serious challenge but, should Amorim miss that and, instead, take over for the visit of PAOK Salonika to Old Trafford in the Europa League next Thursday, he will then have home games against Leicester, again, Bodo Glimt and Everton, which will, surely, give him the chance to get his new regime off in winning fashion.

He will also be able to plan for the quarter-finals of the League Cup, thanks to van Nistelrooy, who managed to finally unlock United’s goal-shy attack, while maintaining the defensive frailties that were such an alarming feature of the ten Hag reign.

There was certainly a sense of relief around Old Trafford last night, the majority of supporters having long since decided that ten Hag was not the manager to return their club to the winning ways that had become part of the club’s DNA in two decades of success under Alex Ferguson.

Van Nistelrooy’s name had sounded out during Sunday’s defeat at West Ham, the game that proved to be ten Hag’s last, and while supporters never openly turned on the Dutchman, it was impossible to find a voice that disapproved of his departure.

Had United laboured in their first outing under van Nistelrooy, there might have been some dissent in the ranks but, whatever his limitations as a coach, he clearly has the ability to inspire his players to the sort of goalscoring exploits that were a feature of his playing career.

It took just 15 minutes for that sense of post-ten Hag relief to be transformed into elation as United scored a spectacular goal through Casemiro, a signing so often cited in the case against the former manager as a player signed past his prime and no longer fit for purpose.

Now, the Brazilian midfielder received a pass from Alejandro Garnacho and scored with a magnificent right-foot shot from 25 yards and, suddenly, so many of those recent dark days under ten Hag were forgotten.

Garnacho’s finish for a second goal, after 28 minutes, was not too shabby either as he converted Dalot’s sweeping cross and, although Bilal El Khannouss pulled one back, after a poor punch from Altay Bayindir, better was to come from United.

On 36 minutes, Bruno Fernandes scored with a free-kick, deflected in off James Justin, and Casemiro made it 4-1 with a close-range finish after his header had struck a post.

In first-half injury-time, more poor defending, this time from Victor Lindelof and Diogo Dalot, allowed Conor Coady to make it 4-2 at the break although Fernandes walked in his second, and United’s fifth, just before the hour after a terrible back-pass from Caleb Okoli.

Cameras zoomed in on van Nistelrooy enjoying every one of his team’s goals, and the effect was the same on fans. 

If substitute Amad Diallo had scored with a spectacular attempted overhead kick midway through the second half, the roof would have lifted off Old Trafford - not difficult, perhaps, given the dilapidated state of the stadium - but a fitting indication of a rare good night for the fallen giants.

Man United (4-2-3-1): Bayindir 5; Dalot 6, de Ligt 6 (Evans 72, 6), Lindelof 5, Martinez 6 (Mazraoui 62, 6); Ugarte 7, Casemiro 8; Rashford 6 (Diallo 62, 7), Fernandes 7, Garnacho 7 (Hojlund 72, 5); Zirkzee 5 (Wheatley 85).

Leicester (4-2-3-1): Ward 5; Justin 6, Coady 5, Okoli 4 (Vestergaard 71, 5), Thomas 6; Soumare 6, Skipp 5; McAteer 6 (Mavididi 72, 5), El Khannouss 7 (Alves 72, 5), De Cordova-Reid 7 (Bounanotte 72, 5); Ayew 6 (Edouard 72, 5).

Referee: Andy Madley 6