Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho put the bad times behind them as they both ended personal barren spells in Manchester United’s 3-0 win at Leicester City.

In the first half, Hojlund consigned his 21-game goal drought to the history books, and he wasn’t the only United attacker to end an unproductive sequence, with Garnacho scoring midway through the second after 24 matches without finding the net. The in-form Bruno Fernandes rounded things off with a late third to follow up Thursday’s hat-trick in the Europa League against Real Sociedad.

Victory moves Ruben Amorim’s side above Tottenham, Everton and West Ham United to 13th in the table, but it wasn’t all plain sailing at the King Power Stadium as teenage defender Ayden Heaven’s impressive first Premier League start was brought to a premature end when he was taken off on a stretcher with an injury early in the second half.

Charlotte Harpur breaks down the main talking points from United’s fourth win of the season over Leicester in all competitions.

Relief for Hojlund at the King Power Stadium

It has been 94 long days since we have seen Hojlund’s Gladiator-inspired goalscoring celebration. He hadn’t scored for United since getting two on December 12 against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League but finally, his 21-game goal drought is over.

Once again, Fernandes was at the heart of the action, curling a ball from inside his own half towards the Danish striker.

Hojlund timed his run well to stay onside and when Boubakary Soumare misjudged an attempted interception, chested the ball down and drove into the penalty area.

He took a couple of touches to get the ball out of his feet, then unleashed an arrowed shot into the bottom corner.

It is somewhat ironic that when Hojlund finally scored again, it was with his weaker right foot, given he has spurned so many chances with his left in recent games.

Hojlund won’t mind either way. The fact that he simply shot and scored suffices. It is as simple as that.

After joining in August 2023 from Italy’s Atalanta in an €85million (£71.5m/$92.5m at current rates) deal, Hojlund has endured a difficult second season at United and his goal return has been poor, with just three Premier League goals including tonight’s one. At times, he has looked bereft of confidence. No matter how hard he tried or the good positions he put himself in, the ball just wouldn’t go in.

Consistency is key but his first-half strike tonight is at least a step in the right direction and a huge weight off of his shoulders.

Heaven’s promising start ended by injury

Just over a week ago, Heaven had never played a minute of Premier League football.

The 18-year-old’s only appearance in a first-team environment was with his former club Arsenal, making a 10-minute cameo in their Carabao Cup win at Preston North End on October 30. But since then, following a winter-window transfer to United, he has quietly made an argument to cement his place at left centre-back in Amorim’s side.

Heaven put in an extremely impressive and mature performance after coming on as a second-half substitute in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal to replace the injured Leny Yoro — so much so that Amorim backed him to start against Real Sociedad on Thursday in the second leg of a European knockout tie when other coaches may have been hesitant to throw such an inexperienced player in at the deep end.

But Heaven took it in his stride and thrived in United’s 4-1 win, with astute positioning, crucial interceptions and blocks.

Against Leicester tonight, Heaven had Victor Lindelof alongside him, who was advising the teenager on his positioning while Matthijs de Ligt pushed further up.

He shielded the ball well, made some decisive recovery runs and was composed when under pressure from looping balls in behind. But as he attempted to defend a cross in the 51st minute and challenged Patson Daka, Heaven went down and never got up. He immediately signalled to the bench and lay flat on his back.

As he was taken off on a stretcher, the lower part of his left foot in a protective sleeve, he looked in visible pain. Amorim, who will be praying the injury is not as serious as it first appeared, gave him an affectionate pat before he was carried down the tunnel.

Fernandes is closing in on United greats

If you thought Hojlund’s goal drought had dragged on for a while, Garnacho’s had been even longer until he also broke the curse on Sunday. The 20-year-old Argentinian had not scored since the November 28 Europe League meeting with Bodo/Glimt, a run of 24 games.

Garnacho thought he had doubled United’s lead in the 56th minute but his celebrations were premature as that left-footed finish was ruled out for offside. He made no mistake, however, 11 minutes later, hitting Fernandes’ stabbed ball first time and catching goalkeeper Mads Hermansen off-guard.

That was Fernandes’ second assist of the night, and his silky finish for United’s late third brings the Portuguese midfielder into the all-time top 10 Manchester United players for Premier League goal contributions (62 scored, 50 assists).

He shares the leaderboard with some of the most recognisable creative talents in United’s top-flight history and poetically, he knocked Ruud van Nistelrooy, Leicester’s current manager, out of the top 10 in the process. As demonstrated against Real Sociedad in midweek, the captain is the beating heart of Amorim’s team and an example to United’s younger players.

Amorim has previously said the academy must be instrumental to the first team’s future success. Today, he opted to give Harry Amass, playing at left wing-back, his first Premier League appearance on his 18th birthday. Small in stature, Amass was not put under any intense pressure so it was the perfect scenario to give him a run-out.

Admittedly, Amorim has limited options because of injuries elsewhere in the first-team squad but the fact he is giving Toby Collyer, Chido Obi, Amass and Heaven opportunities shows, as he did with youngsters at previous club Sporting CP, that if you are good enough, and there is an opening and it makes sense, you will play for him, no matter your age.

What did Ruben Amorim say?

“The performances are improving. When you have the performance and then some results, because it was not all the results, you feel better and you start seeing different things. I’m starting to see different things in the team, especially today. You can feel a lack of energy in some places, but you feel that the team can find a way to win games even when they are a little bit more tired. So it’s a good sign for this team,” Amorim said in his post-match press conference.

When asked about Hojlund, he said: “It’s really important for him. He’s doing the right things. He’s helping the team. He’s fighting for every ball and today he scored a very good goal, very important goal, especially in that moment of the game. I think he deserved that goal more than anybody.

With United next playing on April 1, Amorim spoke about United’s two-week break. “For the coaches it’s difficult to to have time off. We are going to divide the group. Some of the players, Mason Mount, Toby (Collyer), they have to work on their fitness. We have to recover players to help all, Harry Maguire, (Kobbie) Mainoo all these players we are going to try to bring that those players for the final push of two competitions. Some of the players are going to rest more days than usual. So we are going to divide and give different things for different players and try to be ready for the the final two months.”

And on debutant Amass, he added: “You have some moments that some players are injured and they have this opportunity and Amass all these young kids have to understand that they are so lucky to play for Manchester United and that is so important for him. So it’s the best gift that he can expect.”

What next for United?

Tuesday, April 1: Nottingham Forest (Away), Premier League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

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(Top photo: Zohaib Alam – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)