Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho ended their goal droughts as Manchester United beat Leicester City 3-0 at the King Power Stadium.

Hojlund fired his team in front in the first half for his first goal in 22 games before Garnacho doubled the advantage for Ruben Amorim’s improving side midway through the second half with his first goal in 25 games. Bruno Fernandes added a late third.

For Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had been in charge of United for the reverse fixture in November, it was a huge blow. His Leicester side have become the first team in English top-flight history to lose seven home games in a row without scoring in any of them.

Nine points from safety, their chances of retaining their top-flight status appear slim. But United can consider themselves upwardly mobile again after an impressive week. This victory lifts them up two places above Tottenham and Everton into 13th spot.

United produced one of their best performances of the season to beat Real Sociedad on Thursday and carried that momentum into the game with Christian Eriksen hitting the post with a stunning effort on the angle even before Hojlund had his big moment.

The Danish striker has endured a miserable drought going back to last year, but when sent through by Fernandes he showed composure, tucking the ball away low into the far corner with his weaker right foot, the sense of relief obvious in his celebrations.

For Leicester, without a Premier League goal in front of their own supporters in over three months, even a one-goal deficit can be daunting but Patson Daka had an opportunity to level it – Ayden Heaven producing a fine double block to deny him.

Unfortunately for the teenager, making his first Premier League start, his involvement was cut short when he was forced off with what looked like a serious injury. Toby Collyer was switched to wing-back as part of a reshuffle. Harry Amass came on for his debut too.

Amorim’s squad looks thin but for the first time there is some consistency to the performances. In the last seven games, the only defeat came after a penalty shoot-out against Fulham. Some optimism. How Leicester would love to be able to say that.

Player of the match: Bruno Fernandes

While it was a big night for Hojlund and Garnacho, it was Fernandes who had the final say again. If the captain is credited with the assist for the second goal, he has become the sixth United player to provide 50 assists for the club in the Premier League.

Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Eric Cantona and David Beckham are the other five. They did so in a rather stronger side than this one but there is credit to be had in keeping the flame alive too. Fernandes has maintained his standards regardless.

Not everyone has that view, former United captain Roy Keane being a vocal critic of the Portuguese. Asked by Sky Sports how he deals with such criticism of him, Fernandes gave an eloquent response.

“It’s not nice to hear bad things about you. I think no one likes it, but at the same time, it motivates and it makes you feel that obviously there are a lot of things that people think you have to improve.

“You have to take it in a positive way, understanding that whatever people are saying, if there’s a margin to improvement or not.

“Obviously, I know you’re talking about Roy Keane.

“As I said before, I have a huge respect for Roy Keane. I think he was one of the best captains in the club and an amazing player for the club. He won basically everything for this club. It’s the way he thinks. It’s the idea he has about me as a player, as a captain. I have to respect that.

“I do things in my own way to try to be the best, not just captain, but person and team-mate I can. I do it every day. I try to be an example in everything I do, on the training sessions, on the pitch, in everything I do.

“Not everyone will like, not everyone will think in the same way. I respect the opinion of everyone. I have a huge respect for Roy Keane. Obviously, I accept that there’s a lot of margin for improvement in my game, in my leadership, in everything I do, even in my own life.”

Amorim: Fernandes surprised me

“What surprised me the most is the way he works every day,” said Amorim when asked about Fernandes in the press conference. “That was a surprise. Even we in Portugal see Bruno with that frustration and I was really surprised. He is a very good professional.

“And you can understand that frustration. He wants to win. And that is a good thing. So that was a surprise to me.”

Asked if he thinks the skipper will need a rest, Amorim said: “I don’t feel that in Bruno. He’s a special guy in that aspect. He’s always ready. He can recover quite well.

“I don’t know the future. But I’m just reading what the performance department tells me, the numbers. And then what I see in the game. So I always see a Bruno that is dangerous and a Bruno that can recover in every situation.”

Fernandes in stats

• Since his Manchester United debut in February 2020, only Kevin De Bruyne (90) has recorded more assists across all competitions for a side in Europe’s big five leagues than Bruno Fernandes (80), with him moving above Thomas Muller (79).
• With his goal and two assists in this match, Bruno Fernandes moved onto 112 Premier League goal involvements for Manchester United, the 10th-most for the club in the competition after moving above Ruud van Nistelrooy.
• The Portugal international also became the sixth Red Devils player to reach 50 assists in the competition after Ryan Giggs (162), Wayne Rooney (93), David Beckham (80), Paul Scholes (55) and Eric Cantona (51).
• For the ninth time across all competitions for Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes recorded three goal involvements in a match (one goal, two assists). Two of those have come across his last two matches against Leicester and Real Sociedad, as many instances as across his prior 201 matches combined for the Red Devils.

Van Nistelrooy: Survival mathematically possible

Leicester City head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy speaking in the press conference:

“Without going into specific moments, the opportunities were there for one or two goals. It is not falling our way at the moment, that is clear. Also, some key moments in the game, we could have done better there. Other than that, I think the effort is there.”

Asked if the gap is now too much with Leicester nine points behind Wolves with nine games to play: “The mathematical possibility is there. As long as that is the case, we are professional and will keep doing our jobs. We will not give up as long as it is mathematically possible.

“We feel we are creating chances. If you stop believing you can be sure they won’t fall your way. When you believe in your work and you keep doing your jobs, it can change.”

Story of the match in stats

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