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Gunning for the top spot, Manchester United traveled to Anoeta Stadium for their final Europa League Group E clash with Real Sociedad on Thursday night (November 3). The Red Devils secured a narrow 1-0 win over their Spanish rivals on Thursday, courtesy of Alejandro Garnacho’s first-half strike.
The win took United level on points with Sociedad in Group E (15 points), but the Spanish side’s superior goal difference meant they finished ahead of the English outfit. Erik ten Hag’s side will need to compete in the knockout play-off round of the Europa League to book their place in the last 16 of the competition.
Neither team stood on ceremony on Thursday, with both coaches moving their pieces to get an early breakthrough. The hosts had a sight of goal in the sixth minute, with Carlos Fernandez hitting the side-netting from a narrow angle. The flag, however, was eventually raised for offside against the forward.
Manchester United's first real chance came in the 17th minute, with them shell-shocking the hosts with a free-flowing counter-attack. Cristiano Ronaldo set Garnacho up with a perfectly-weighted through ball and the young Argentinian took care of the rest with a thunderous finish.
Three minutes before the half-hour mark, Garnacho had an excellent opportunity to double his tally. Bruno Fernandes delivered a brilliant curling cross into the area, which Garnacho intercepted. He used a couple of feints to open up a bit of space for himself, but lost his balance before he could pull the trigger, dragging his shot well wide of the mark.
In the 42nd minute, Ronaldo received a long ball from De Gea and did ever so well to take it past Jon Pacheco. Anticipating trouble, Alex Remiro dashed out of his line to close Ronaldo down, prompting the Portuguese to go for a lobbed finish. His improvisation was excellent, but his chip did not dip in time, landing on the roof of the Sociedad net.
Just before the half-time break, Andoni Gorosabel and Pablo Marin went for goal with consecutive efforts but were denied by the acrobatic De Gea.
United lost momentum in the second half and never looked like adding to their advantage. Sociedad, on the other hand, threatened Manchester United’s lead on a few occasions, drawing a couple of saves from De Gea and a vital block from Luke Shaw in the 78th minute.
The visitors escaped with maximum points but their performance, especially in the second half, was far from perfect. Here are three United players who performed and two who disappointed against Sociedad on Thursday:
Performed: Lisandro Martinez
Manchester United center-back Lisandro Martinez was as dependable as ever against Sociedad on Thursday. He intercepted threatening passes, cleared the ball out of trouble, fought for every single ball, was strong in the air, and always looked for a forward pass.
Against the La Liga outfit, the former Ajax man made six clearances, blocked a shot, intercepted three passes, and recorded four recoveries. He also delivered three accurate long balls, won four of six aerial duels, and completed 53 passes (82.8% accuracy).
Martinez saw a yellow for a rough tackle on Brais Mendez, meaning he will not be available for United’s next Europa League game.
Underperformed: Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a lively first half, setting up Garnacho with an excellent through ball and going for goal with a cheeky lob. In the second 45, however, he was completely anonymous, never looking to threaten La Real. Granted his experience and quality, he ought to have done considerably better and led from the front when his team needed him.
On Thursday, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner failed to lodge even a single shot on target, lost seven of 13 duels, and ceded possession 11 times. Ronaldo played only 14 accurate passes and committed two fouls, one of which saw him go into the referee’s books (elbow on Aritz Elustondo in the 71st minute).
Performed: Alejandro Garnacho
Alejandro Garnacho, 18, was the liveliest Manchester United forward on Europa League matchday six, scoring a goal and always looking to improve upon his tally.
In the 17th minute, he latched on to Ronaldo’s through ball down the left, cut in, and found the top-far corner with an unstoppable finish. Garnacho carved out another opportunity for himself 10 minutes later, but lost his footing before letting fly.
The goal aside, the Argentine completed a dribble, won a ground duel, cleared the ball once, and made two interceptions.
Underperformed: Donny van de Beek
Shocking most, Ten Hag named Donny van de Beek in his Manchester United starting XI on Thursday night. Making his first start under Ten Hag, the Dutchman needed to produce a confident performance to silence his doubters. The former Ajax man, unfortunately, failed miserably to do so, cutting a frustrating figure in midfield.
Van de Beek was practically an observer until he was hooked in the 58th minute. He completed only nine passes (64.3% accuracy), lost two of four duels, ceded possession seven times, and was caught offside once. It would not be surprising to see him back on the bench again in United’s next outing.
Performed: David de Gea
Had it not been for De Gea’s razor-sharp reflexes, the Mancunians might not have garnered maximum points from their trip to Sociedad. De Gea made four stunning saves over the course of the match, with three of them coming from inside the box. His double save to deny Gorosabel (initial shot) and Marin (rebound) just before the break was nothing short of extraordinary.
In addition to being an absolute wall at the back, De Gea instigated multiple counter attacks with his long balls, accurately delivering 10 of them.
