Manchester United’s season goes on as they cruise past Real Sociedad 4-1 on the night at Old Trafford to qualify for the Europa League quarter finals against Lyon with a comfortable 5-2 win on aggregate. After being appointed in November, Amorim has seen a dismissive campaign where they are out of contention from all domestic competitions and sit at an embarrassing 14th in the league. The win keeps United’s European dream alive and their only chance to compete in the Champions League next season.
The first half saw an electric start for Real Sociedad, only to be rewarded with a penalty in the 9th minute as De Ligt caught Oyarzabal from behind. The Achilles heel dampened United’s spirits early on as the French referee went onto the monitor to award Real Sociedad a penalty. Oyarzabal calmly slotted the penalty past Onana, only to wake up the giant as United found their mojo just after. United got a penalty of their own as Casemiro freed Fernandes after a brilliant ball, who squared the ball to out-of-form Hojlund, who was tackled from behind to win a penalty for the Red Devils. The Portuguese Magnifico, as the crowd shouted, slotted home his second goal in the Europa League this season.
United continued their brilliant form into the second half when they won a penalty early on after Dorgu was tackled in the Sociedad box. Bruno Fernandes stepped up to score his second of the night to give United a 2-1 lead. Things got worse for Sociedad when Aramburu caught Dorgu just ahead of the half line, after he ran free off a brilliant Zirkzee ball. With a one-goal cushion and an extra man advantage, things got easier for United. Sociedad survived another penalty scare when Dorgu went down in the box and was awarded a penalty. After a brief VAR check and a brilliant sportsmanship moment from Dorgu where he signalled the referee about the tackle not being a penalty, Sociedad survived.
The joy was not for long as Bruno Fernandes finished off a brilliant counter off Garnacho’s through ball to complete his hat-trick and send United to the next round. The Portuguese scored his second hat trick in the United shirt after his first in 2021 against Leeds. On a night Hojlund did everything right except finding the net, eventually found Dalot to send the ball past Remiro to score United’s fourth on the night.
The Midfield Magic
Amorim chose to go ahead with Casemiro in the midfield ahead of the returning Ugarte and Toby Collyer and his faith in the Brazilian paid off as Casemiro owned the first half, initiating United’s attacking carnage. The first half belonged to Casemiro as he found his passes on will with ease, past Sociedad’s defence. With Bruno Fernandes upfront, the midfield concern came when Real Sociedad broke on counters. The midfield saw a visible space as the Sociedad midfield found plenty of spaces in between during the first half. However, Casemiro covered the midfield grass on a brilliant evening as he bossed the Sociedad midfield single-handedly. Japanese winger, Kobe was particularly efficient for Sociedad as he troubled the United defence on occasions before his substitution in the 75th minute. It was an interesting battle between Kobe and teenager Ayden Heaven, who enjoyed a brilliant evening alongside Dorgu on the left side.
The Bright Stars
On a night when everything went right for United, a few shone the most. ‘Captain Fantastic’ Bruno Fernandes led brilliantly from the front to finish the evening on a high. A particular Hojlund was full of confidence and looked set to score his first in a long time but somehow couldn’t get that revitalizing goal. However, Bruno Fernandes was full of praise for Hojlund after a brilliant evening as was Amorim. Amorim chose Heaven ahead of Lindelof on the left center back position where he connected with Dorgu to cause all the troubles for Sociedad. Dorgu had a similar brilliant game to kickstart his career at United and can take the confidence into the fixtures ahead after a difficult start in the league. Zirkzee and Garnacho also shone on the night to give Amorim and United a place in the next round.
United face Lyon in the quarter final to be played on the 10th and 17th of April over two legs. With a step further ahead in the Europa League, will this be Amorim’s saviour after a not so impressive domestic season?