MATCH REVIEW - REAL SOCIEDAD VS MANCHESTER UNITED
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| Manchester United kicked off their Europa League campaign in some style |
A perfect beginning to The Europa League for Manchester United as they battered Real Sociedad 4-0, in what was a one-sided clash. After a disappointing group-stage exit from the Champions League back in December, this was the first European encounter for Ole's men. Real Sociedad failed to influence the game in a significant manner as Manchester United ran the show. The game itself must've ingrained massive confidence for the squad ahead in the competition.
MATCH OVERVIEW
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| Rashford put himself in great positions but his finishing let him down |
The match was played at a neutral venue, the Allianz Stadium in Turin, as the travel restrictions in Spain abated the tie to be played at the Reale Arena. Manchester United made 5 changes to the side that drew against West Brom. The referee blew the whistle and the match kicked off with The Red Devils attacking from the right. In the maiden minute of the game, Eric Bailly lost control of the ball which gave Sociedad the first major chance. Isak collected the ball and passed it to Januzaj. He took a shot but it went wide of the post. In the starting few minutes the match seemed quite open from both sides.
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| Bruno Fernandes steps up again |
In the 27', Marcus Rashford gave a long through ball to Bruno Fernandes and the Portuguese cooly slot in the first goal of the game. The first half ended with Manchester United leading 1-0. Back after the break, The Red Devils started attacking more widely with Fred creating spaces for the forward line. In the 57', Rashford went for another long ball which Dan James flicked towards Bruno Fernandes as he once again ended up scoring and thereby completing his brace.
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| Dan James caused chaos with his perfectly timed runs |
In the 65' Fred smartly took advantage of the spaces in Sociedad's defence, passing towards Rashford. The forward led to maximise the lead by 3-0 and finally finished in his usual cool manner. In the closing minutes, Sociedad's midfield was trying hard to lead the ball towards United defence but hardly got any close chances. In the 85', Dan James took a long run by taking advantage of the empty right flank and ended up scoring with his sheer speed and pinpoint finishing. The final whistle was blown away and the match ended 4-0.
TACTICS OVERVIEW
In the starting few minutes, The Red Devils' defence looked a bit disorganized, but there was hardly any trouble as the game settled. The backline looked great as Harry Maguire led the defence towards a perfect game plan. Not to forget, it was great to see Alex Telles performing perfectly with the midfield too.
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| Fred's assist for Rashford showed his creative side |
Bruno Fernandes once again stepped up to perform at the top level by scoring a perfect brace. Fred's passing and vision is something that is making him one of the rightful choices in the future for the club. Dean Henderson wasn't tested much but he once again made sure that he is a reliable option for the future. In the first half, Rashford's finishing seemed doubtful even though he ended up scoring a perfect goal in the second half.
VERDICT
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| "Bow Down to the Ivorian Kings" Amad Diallo made his senior debut |
Ole must be happy after this magnificent performance of his team. There were some concerns related to the squad after the draw against West Brom. But the team looks freshened up for the new European Campaign now. Manchester United is the only team who've won the competition before in the last 32, gazes big chances for them ahead in the competition. It'd be interesting to see how the squad performs in the home leg after a week.
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