Picture Credit: Twitter
Manchester United steamrolled past Real Sociedad 4-0 in the first leg of the round of 32 of Europa League on Thursday at the Juventus Stadium. With this win, they edged closer to seal a berth in the round of 16 of the Europa League. Just when we all thought Manchester United’s form was blowing hot and cold after their unproductive weeks at the Premier League, a comprehensive victory happened.
Even though Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay missed out on golden opportunities in the beginning, Bruno Fernandes took the most of a defensive mishap by Sociedad and started the goal-scoring barrage for Manchester United. This was the first goal by United as an assist by Rashford and a small wipe-out between Le Normand and Remiro enabled Fernandes to score.
The second goal came for the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, just 12 minutes into the second half. Bruno Fernandes capitalized on his 2nd VAR review. The assist was again by talisman Marcus Rashford, which was nudged by Fernandes to the bottom right corner of the goal. The third goal for the Red Devils was a Rashford masterclass as he went through with the pass from Fred and tapped the ball past Alex Remiro.
The last goal was a spectacle to watch as Dan James brought it in at the last minute. Eric Bailly’s assist and James’s close-range finish, powered United to 4-0.
Bruno Fernandes at double on Manchester United's 4-0 win
“We are in this competition to win it. My target is scoring the most goals I can and trying to assist my teammates in scoring too. My target is trophies, and winning trophies is more important than scoring goals. Today I think we did everything well. We still have the second leg and a tough game at home; 4-0 is a good result but we have to be aware of what Real Sociedad can do." quoted Fernandes in post-match win.
Manchester United had last lifted the Europa League title in 2017 and would be itching to lift the prestigious trophy this time too.
