It is the comeback Ruud van Nistelrooy was not expecting. When he left Manchester United, it had the air of cruelty. He was the favourite who fell from favour, the clinical striker who was clinically dispatched. He was the fourth big name in five years to experience Sir Alex Ferguson’s brutality. Like Jaap Stam, like David Beckham, like Roy Keane, he felt the force of Ferguson’s wrath. No sentimentality was afforded because of his service to United. One by one, they were gone.
Eighteen years later, Van Nistelrooy is back. The United goals he used to celebrate were his own, the 150 he scored for the club in five seasons of devastating ruthlessness. Those he enjoyed on Wednesday were scored by Casemiro, Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes. He has traded the penalty area for the technical area. A seal of approval for the interim manager came from Ferguson.
