Winning the Carabao Cup does not allow Manchester United players off the hook

MANCHESTER – It has been one of the strangest scenes of a strange season at Manchester United. Moments after a 5-2 Carabao Cup victory over Leicester City at Old Trafford in the first match after the sacking of coach Erik Ten Hag, the players performed a lap of honor before leaving the field.

Interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy is already back in the dressing room, having made a short diversion to applause from the fans and celebrating the win with fists before heading to the players’ tunnel.

But despite sitting 14th in the Premier League and with another coach paying the price for their failure to perform, the players were keen to make every second of applause count as they saluted all four sides of the pitch.

Perhaps they were desperate for some adulation and to enjoy a rare moment of success this season. Regardless that it was a comfortable win over a half-strength Leicester side, any win would be good for United these days.

“Suddenly we have some luck on our side,” Van Nistelrooy said. “That made it a great day today.”

But while United wait for Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim to confirm his departure from the Portuguese champions to replace Ten Hag – United are in talks with Sporting over a deal to secure his release after triggering his €10m release clause. – Van Nistelrooy and the players did their part to paint a normal picture after Ten Hag’s exit.

It’s usually the same story when a manager gets fired. The team gets an immediate rebound and a morale boost that’s enough to get a much-needed win, but more often than not, it’s just an illusion. The failures that led to the previous manager’s sacking soon return and the new manager soon discovers that the job he held has become vacant for the simple reason that the players have not performed adequately.

This is the harsh reality for Manchester United now. In fact, it has been much the same since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013 after achieving 13 Premier League titles in 20 years.

That Van Nistelrooy became Ninth The manager who has been in charge of team selection at United since Ferguson stepped down is a dangerous statistic. Ten Hag was the fifth permanent manager to lose his job at United since Ferguson’s departure, with Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick all taking charge temporarily ahead of Van Nistelrooy’s spell in the hot seat.

It may only be one game for Van Nistelrooy if United can sign and seal Amorim ahead of the home game against Chelsea on Sunday, but the likelihood is that the former PSV Eindhoven boss will remain at the helm this weekend due to what sources say. ESPN said that “patience” would be needed before negotiations with Sporting reached a conclusion.

But at least Van Nistelrooy oversaw the win, only United’s fifth this season. Ten Hag’s poor record this season was the reason for his sacking, but although his tactics and selections became increasingly unpredictable, there is no doubt that many of his players underperformed significantly and contributed to him losing his job.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this win was proof that United are ready to change course.

Yes, Casemiro He had his best performance of the season, scoring two goals and assisting another, and was a captain Bruno Fernandes It was impressive too.

But my goal is Leicester Bilal Al-Khanous and Connor Codyexposing United’s defensive woes once again, and there were plenty of other moments when Steve Cooper’s side created chances and could have scored more goals. Both occasions that Jordan Ayew It was easily stripped Victor Lindelof and Manuel Ugarte It will worry Van Nistelrooy, and it will worry Amorim when he gets to watch a replay of this match.

This is an unbalanced United team, but their players are certainly capable of doing much better.

They may continue their reawakening with a win over Chelsea at the weekend, but if or when Amorim takes over, he would be wise to be wary of trusting this group of players to perform on a consistent basis. They didn’t do that with Ten Hag, and the evidence presented in the 90 minutes against Leicester is not enough to suggest that Van Nistelrooy has found a missing ingredient.

There were no major changes in the team and no adjustment in tactics. It has been the same players and formation that have provided so many poor results and performances for Ten Hag’s side, so it will take a lot more than that to convince anyone that United are suddenly ready to climb the table now that Ten Hag is gone.

Amorim will know it. He will watch United’s matches, study the data and determine which players can survive the new system, and which players are past their expiry date.

But at least United won. Casemiro will be happy with his two goals, as will Fernandes who also scored twice Alejandro Garnacho Other United Compensation.

This match did not provide a clear picture of the state of United, and that had nothing to do with the fog that hung over Old Trafford on Wednesday.