MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Over to you Ruben Amorim.
Manchester United's incoming head coach will take over a team on the up after a 3-0 win against Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday made it four games unbeaten in all competitions under interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Amorim officially starts on Monday after serving out his notice period at Sporting Lisbon and comes into a club that seems to be in a much healthier position than it was when Erik ten Hag was fired at the end of last month.
“We said ‘Let’s make the most of these four games, get the maximum out of it,' and I think we did an okay job,” Van Nistelrooy said. ”I really enjoyed it, it’s been a short but amazing period."
Van Nistelrooy, Ten Hag's former assistant and an iconic striker for the club in his playing days, has secured three wins and a draw during his four-game temporary reign, with Sunday's victory provisionally moving United to within four points of the Champions League qualifying places.
Now he is seeking clarity from United's hierarchy about his own future once Amorim takes over.
“I expect to hear today or tomorrow from them,” he said.
On his 250th appearance for the club Bruno Fernandes scored with a brilliant curling shot from the edge of the area in the 17th minute at Old Trafford.
His effort in the 38th then saw Victor Kristiansen accidentally divert the ball past Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen to double United's lead before the break.
Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored an even more spectacular goal than Fernandes' in the 82nd when sweeping the ball into the top corner from outside the box. Fernandes said later that the Argentina international didn't fully celebrate the goal because he believes some fans have lost faith in him.
Third-place Nottingham Forest's rise has been one of the stories of the season, but it missed the chance to close the gap on Manchester City in second after falling 3-1 to Newcastle.
City's 2-1 loss against Brighton on Saturday meant Forest could have moved to within a point of the defending champion and it got off to an ideal start through Murillo's goal in the 21st at the City Ground.
But second-half goals from Alexander Isak, Joelinton and Harvey Barnes completed eighth-place Newcastle's comeback.
Ipswich won for the first time in the league this season with a 2-1 victory at Tottenham that saw it climb out of the relegation zone.
Ipswich was the only top-flight team without a win heading into Sunday and led 2-0 at halftime against a Spurs side that could have moved into the top four with victory.
Sam Szmodics and Liam Delap put Ipswich in control at that break. Rodrigo Bentancur pulled one back for Tottenham, but couldn't prevent Ange Postecoglou's team falling to a fifth league loss this season.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
http://accesswdun.com/article/2024/11/1271372