Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho put the bad times behind them as they both ended personal barren spells in Manchester United’s 3-0 win at Leicester City.
In the first half, striker Hojlund consigned his 21-game goal drought to the history books and he wasn’t the only United attacker to to end an unproductive sequence, with Garnacho scoring after 24 matches without finding the net.
The in-form Bruno Fernandes rounded things off with a late strike to follow up his midweek hat-trick in the Europa League against Real Sociedad.
Victory moves Ruben Amorim’s side ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and West Ham, and up to 13th in the Premier League table but it wasn’t all plain sailing at the King Power Stadium as teenager Ayden Heaven’s impressive first league start was brought to a premature end when he was stretchered off with an injury six minutes after half-time.
Charlotte Harpur breaks down the main talking points from United’s fourth win of the season over Leicester.
Relief for Hojlund at the King Power Stadium
It has been 94 long days since we have seen Hojlund’s Gladiator-inspired goalscoring celebration. He last scored for United on December 12 against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League but finally, his 21-game goal drought is over.
Once again, Bruno Fernandes was at the heart of the action, curling the ball from within his own half towards Hojlund.
The Dane timed his run well to stay onside and when Boubakary Soumare misjudged the ball, Hojlund chested it ball down and drove into the area.
He took a couple of touches to get the ball out of his feet and unleashed an arrowed shot into the bottom corner.
It is somewhat ironic that when Hojlund finally scored, it was with his weaker right foot given he has spurned so many chances with his left in recent games.
Hojlund won’t mind either way. The fact that he simply shot and scored suffices. It is as simple as that.
After joining in the summer of 2023 from Atalanta for a transfer worth €75million, Hojlund has endured a difficult second season and his goal return has been poor, scoring just three Premier League goals. At times, he has looked bereft of confidence. No matter how hard he tried or the good positions he put himself in, it just wouldn’t go in.
Consistency is key but his first-half striker is at least a step in the right direction and a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders.
Heaven’s promising start ended by injury
Just over a week ago, Ayden Heaven had never played a minute of Premier League football.
The 18-year-old’s only appearance in a first-team environment was at his former club Arsenal. He made a 10-minute cameo in their Carabao Cup win at Preston North End on October 30 .
But since then, Heaven has quietly made an argument to cement his spot at left centre-back in Ruben Amorim’s side.
After coming on as a second-half substitute to replace Leny Yoro, who was forced off with a foot injury in United’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal, Heaven put in an extremely impressive and mature performance — so much so Amorim backed him to start against Real Sociedad on Thursday while other coaches may have been hesitant to throw the youngster in at the deep end.
But Heaven took it in his stride and thrived in United’s 4-1 win with astute positioning, crucial interceptions and blocks.
Against Leicester, Heaven had Victor Lindelof alongside him, who was advising the teenager on his positioning while Matthijs de Ligt pushed further up.
He shielded the ball well, made decisive recovery runs and was composed when under pressure from looping balls in behind.
But as he attempted to defend a cross in the 51st minute and challenged Patson Daka, Heaven went down and never got up. He immediately signalled to the bench and lay flat on his back.
As he was taken off on a stretcher, the lower part of his left foot in a boot, he looked in visible pain. Amorim, who will be praying that Heaven’s injury is not as serious as it appeared, gave him an affectionate pat before he wet down the tunnel.
Ayden Heaven was injured early in the second half (Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Fernandes is closing in on United greats
If you thought Hojlund’s goal drought was long, Garnacho’s barren period had been even longer until he broke the curse on Sunday.
The 20-year-old had not scored since November 28, a run of 24 games. Garnacho thought he had doubled United’s lead in the 56th minute but his celebrations were premature as that left-footed goal was ruled out for offside.
He made no mistake, however, 11 minutes later, hitting Fernandes’ stabbed ball first time and catching Mads Hermansen off guard.
That was Fernandes’ second assist of the game and a silky finish for United’s third brings the Portuguese midfielder into the all-time top 10 Manchester United players for Premier League goal contributions (62 goals and 50 assists).
He shares the leaderboard with some of the most recognisable creative talents in United’s top-flight history and poetically, he knocked Ruud van Nistelrooy, Leicester’s head coach on the night, out of the club’s top 10 in the process. As demonstrated against Real Sociedad, the captain is the beating heart of Amorim’s team and is an example to the younger players.
Amorim has previously said United’s academy needs to be instrumental to the first-team’s future success. He opted to give Harry Amass, playing at left wing-back, his first Premier League appearance on his 18th birthday.
Small in stature, Amass was not put under any intense pressure but it was the perfect scenario to give him a run-out.
Admittedly, Amorim has limited options because of injuries but the fact he is giving Toby Collyer, Chido Obi, Amass and Heaven opportunities shows, as he did with Sporting, that if you are good enough, and there is an opening and it makes sense, you will play, no matter your age.
What did Ruben Amorim say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for United?
Tuesday, April 1: Nottingham Forest (Away), Premier League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
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(Top photo: Zohaib Alam – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)
