Manchester United earned all three points and a clean sheet on the road. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Manchester United cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City to keep their spirits high over the international break.
Albeit against one of the three relegation favourites, such a dominant showing was imperative after recent turbulent performances, while Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund finally putting an end to their goal droughts will have worked wonders for their confidence.
Bruno Fernandes, meanwhile, followed up his hat-trick last Thursday with three goal contributions last night. He notched two assists to put United in cruise control before firing home a goal of his own with a scintillating first-time finish in the 90th minute – assisted by his compatriot Diogo Dalot, who did superbly to brush past his man and dispatch an inch-perfect cross into the area.
The skipper is in remarkable form already and will likely build on his stellar club performances by replicating them at international level in the coming days, with Portugal poised to lock horns with Denmark in a two-legged Nations League quarter-final later this week.
‘Exquisite’ Fernandes is pulling all the strings for United
Reacting to the night’s affairs on Premier League Productions, ex-Liverpool defender Jim Beglin heaped praise on Fernandes’ late effort, telling the panel: “This is an absolutely exquisite strike. To take that first time, and sweep it across [Mads] Hermansen, is superb. He’s Mr Manchester United right now.”
Indeed, it’s a sentiment that the Old Trafford faithful will certainly agree with.
Ruben Amorim now gets a short fortnight to recuperate from a hectic run before returning to action with a potentially season-defining crop of fixtures. The Reds travel to face Champions League-chasing Nottingham Forest on April 1, after which they host Manchester City on April 6; they have the opportunity to do a league double over their arch-rivals, having clinched a 2-1 victory at the Etihad last December.
