Manchester United piled more misery on their former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy as they cruised to a 3-0 Premier League win over relegation-threatened Leicester City.
United went into the game riding on a high following their impressive Europa League last-16 victory against Real Sociedad.
And they carried the momentum into Sunday’s clash at the King Power Stadium, with Ruben Amorim’s side making light work of a Leicester team that looks destined for the drop.
Ramsus Hojlund opened the scoring with his first goal since December, and Alejandro Garnacho made sure of the points as United pushed Van Nistelrooy’s men further towards a seemingly inevitable return to the Championship.
The once again instrumental Bruno Fernandes, United’s hat-trick hero against Sociedad, added gloss to the scoreline with a curling strike to make it 3-0, capping a performance that will give Amorim plenty of confidence as his team look to end the domestic season on a high and push for glory on the European stage.
Only an injury to teenage defender Ayden Heaven, who had to be removed from the pitch on a stretcher six minutes into the second half, dampened the mood for a United side belatedly gathering steam.
Leicester v Manchester United
Leicester, to their credit, started brightly and would have gone ahead in the fifth minute had Andre Onana not produced a strong save to turn a Jamie Vardy effort behind for a corner after the former England striker had been played in by a Wilfred Ndidi throughball.
But that was as close as the Foxes came as United dictated matters thereafter, Christian Eriksen striking the post with a bending effort that had Mads Hermansen beaten in the 24th minute.
Yet there would be no reprieve for Hermansen when his fellow Dane Hojlund bore down on goal four minutes later.
Fernandes bent a superb ball down the right sideline and Hojlund displayed the composure that has so often belied him to lash across goal and into the bottom-left corner.
Ndidi fired over at the end of a Leicester break six minutes before the interval, and his profligacy proved costly as United moved through the gears in the second half.
United looked to have a second when Garnacho cut onto to his left foot and fired into the far corner, only for the goal to be ruled out by VAR for offside.
But Garnacho would not be denied a second time in the 67th minute, Hermansen getting a hand to his fizzing low shot but unable to keep it out after Fernandes had poked the ball through to the Argentine.
Fittingly it was Fernandes who would have the final say late on, bending beyond a forlorn Hermansen on another desperate day for Leicester, who remain nine points adrift of safety with as many games remaining.
