Ruud van Nistelrooy oversaw a victory in his first game as interim Manchester United manager on Wednesday, beating Leicester 5-2 in the League Cup.
As he walked out before kick-off he saluted the Stretford End and spent some time celebrating with the same end at the final whistle.
Ahead of this weekend’s game against Chelsea, Van Nistelrooy reflected on what it meant to him to manage United.
If I speak about the game, the reception, the connection with the crowd, and how the players reacted and how the players played, it was a great night. I enjoyed every second of it. Special, proud moment. Obviously the days before leading up to that were with mixed feelings. It was hard to see the manager go: the one who got me into the club, you know, the one who was fighting also for this club and cared a lot about the club. So that was hard. But I have to say that, after that, the crowd lifted our spirits and it was a great night in the end.
Van Nistelrooy’s attention has turned to this weekend’s fixture against Chelsea.
It’s going to be a big match, a tough one. Chelsea playing really well at the moment. Lots of attacking power players who can decide the game, scoring lots of goals, playing very well on the ball. So, we’re going to have to be at our very best, you know, to get a result, to get a good game. It’s obviously what we want. We want to try and win it. But we also respect the opponent, know their qualities, and [what] we have to do. Yeah, we have to really be together and strong, you know, to stop them. And from there, see what we can do, you know, to win the game.
Van Nistelrooy scored three goals against Chelsea as a United player and reflected on his memories of facing Chelsea, both as a player and in the aftermath under Jose Mourinho.
Always tough games, you know, going to Stamford Bridge but also playing at home. It was also in the times where Mourinho was the manager and it was very tough teams to play against. Very well organised, strong teams. Physical. Strong. Obviously in the time with Lampard and Drogba. Players that can decide games. It was always great games to play against them.
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