Ruben Amorim acknowledged that his Manchester United squad is stretched to “their limit,” despite maintaining their upward trajectory with a commanding 3-0 victory over Leicester City on Sunday.
Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho ended their goal droughts, while Bruno Fernandes, continuing his fine form, sealed the win at the King Power Stadium. Although United only climbed to 13th place in the Premier League, signs of improvement under Amorim are becoming more evident after a challenging start to his tenure.
The Red Devils are now unbeaten in seven matches (excluding penalty shootouts) and have secured a spot in the Europa League quarter-finals. With no fixtures for the next two-and-a-half weeks due to the international break and the FA Cup quarter-finals, Amorim welcomed the opportunity for his injury-hit squad to rest and recover.
“It’s a shame to stop for the national teams when our confidence is at its highest,” Amorim admitted. “But it’s clear my players are at their limit. This break will be useful for us to rest and reset. When we return, it will feel like starting from scratch.”
United have dominated their encounters with Leicester this season, winning all four meetings—two of which came during Ruud van Nistelrooy’s interim spell before Amorim’s arrival.
For Van Nistelrooy, his time as Leicester’s permanent manager has been challenging, with the Foxes losing 13 of their last 14 league matches, leaving them nine points from safety. Leicester also set an unwanted record by becoming the first English top-flight side to fail to score in seven consecutive home league games.
“In both boxes, the difference in quality was clear,” said Van Nistelrooy. “The efficiency in finishing chances and defending key moments made the difference. The metrics show a close game, but their clinical finishing was decisive.”
The battle against relegation looks increasingly dire for Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton, with all three promoted teams seemingly destined for the drop for the second consecutive season. Ipswich sit above Leicester only on goal difference, while Southampton remain rooted to the bottom with just nine points from 29 games.
Despite the bleak outlook, Van Nistelrooy insisted his team will keep fighting. “The gap is nine points—it’s big, but we won’t give up. We’ll use every opportunity to turn the situation around after the break,” he added.
