Manchester United hit back in injury time to secure victory over Rangers in Thursday night’s Europa League clash at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes kept his cool in the 92nd minute to put Ruben Amorim’s side ahead again after Cyriel Dessers had equalized for Rangers just moments earlier.
Previously, a strange goal from Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland, who spent the first six months of 2023 on loan with the Red Devils, was thought to be enough to decide the competition.
How the game unfolds
The first big chance went Rangers’ way ten minutes into the game. United contributed with Toby Collyer losing the ball in their own half. Altay Bayindir rushed out and was tripped by Raskin at the critical moment when the United goalkeeper got the edge.
Bayindir soon got back into action, parrying a volley attempt from international teammate Ridvan Yilmaz.
United had dominated possession without creating much until the first half, when Alejandro Garnacho fired a shot at goal that deflected over the bar off Raskin’s head. Matthijs de Ligt went for the resulting corner, but a soft foul from Leny Yoro saw it off.
A fine team moves into the latter stages before half-time gave Amad Diallo a sight of goal and kicked in with a measured Bruno Fernandes pass. Butland came out well to smother. He also got a strong hand on a powerful Lisandro Martinez drive, either side of a heavily deflected shot from Hamza Igamane, who spread a false Bayindir across goal to clear away.
Within minutes of the start of the second half, Igamane was responsible for some excellent defending in his own box when he headed a corner turned in momentum from almost right under the crossbar.
The early pressure continued and Fernandes’ well-aimed shot was agonizingly deflected off Robin Propter, with the corner following Butland’s nightmare moment. The former England international never fully started and stood under the ball as he tried to hit clear, accidentally sending it backwards into the goal.
On the hour, Propter was the reason Garnacho didn’t make it 2-0 with a clever shot through Amad’s cut-back, knocking the ball off the line with his head. There was also a chance for Harry Maguire with a back-post header that narrowly missed the target. Butland redeemed himself somewhat with a reflex save to deny Manuel Ugarte’s diving header and a parry from Garnacho.
The Rangers struggled in the second as United’s superior depth showed, but there were warning signs before the equalizer came, first when Jefte hit a diving shot from outside the box straight at Schorener, and later Dessler hit the post with a clever floater over the The United No. 1. His 88th minute goal was well taken, outmaneuvering Maguire, controlling the falling ball and firing hard and low into the far bottom corner.
But the action wasn’t over. United pushed back and Martinez rose from behind inviting an inviting cross into the box into the path of Fernandes, who met it on the volley to push the ball through Butland’s legs and claim victory.
Check out the Manchester United and Rangers Player reviews here.
After suffering a painful loss to Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, Ruben Amorim wanted the players to recapture the feeling as they twice fought back from a goal down to secure a draw against Liverpool earlier this month.
At the weekend, United had played reasonably well in the first half, but their heads fell when Brighton took the lead back immediately after the interval. A lack of resilience is a criticism that has been leveled at the squad for several years and it could have been a killer bitch under different circumstances.
But here the players rallied, went to the end of the field and scored again to achieve victory.
The first half was a mostly even contest and Rangers were good value to level up at the break after keeping themselves well in check and creating their own chances.
But neither midfielder Connor Barron nor Leon Balogun, both of whom were crucial to this effort in the first 45 minutes, returned to the pitch. After an hour, Vaclav Cerny was also shot down injured, so Philippe Clement sent inexperienced young people to their places.
The equalizer was pretty much out of the blue, a long striker and a moment of individual skill from Cyriel Dessers. Rangers hadn’t really been in the game for a while at this stage.
Andre Onana has usually had the nod in the Europa League this season and was among the substitutes for this one. Altay Bayindir, usually the Domestic Cup goalkeeper, started instead.
It was not lost on fans that Onana was guilty of a costly error against Brighton just days earlier, having found himself re-established in his game in recent weeks following the sort of errors that characterized his early United career.
Amorim downplayed the significance of the change in goalkeepers, describing it as a “normal rotation” before the game and explained the importance of keeping Bayindir fresh and sharp with meaningful playing time, dismissing the idea of the impact on Onana.
Bayindir had a good game overall, beaten by Desserern but made other key saves.
Alejandro Garnacho’s presence in the starting lineup was a bit of a surprise given his recent lack of starts and speculation about his uncertain future.
Amorim would not have chosen the winger if there was even a doubt that he was not up to the task and the faith was repaid.
Garnacho didn’t score or assist, but he was still a consistent threat and attacking outlet, registering more dribbles than anyone else on the pitch, collecting five shots and having nine touches of the ball in the Rangers penalty area.