Manchester United came back from a goal behind to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 at Doosan Arena.
As a result of the victory, United have now moved to fifth place in the Europa League standings, level on points with Turkish giants Galatasaray who are a place above them.
Plzen took the lead in the 48th minute through Matej Vydra, who took full advantage of yet another huge mistake from Andre Onana.
In desperate need of a response from his side, Ruben Amorim looked to his bench and brought on Rasmus Hojlund in place of Marcus Rashford.
Hojlund restored parity just seven minutes after he came on, tapping the ball into the back of the net after some brilliant work from Amad Diallo.
The Danish striker was at it again in the dying embers of the match, combining well with Bruno Fernandes from a free-kick routine to put United in the driving seat.
Fernandes played a key role in the victory beyond the assist he managed for Hojlund’s second strike.
During the time he was on the pitch, the United skipper touched the ball 111 times. He also found his teammates with 63 of the 84 passes he attempted, translating to an individual pass accuracy of 75%.
Seven of Fernandes’ passes were key passes.
The Portugal international connected with four of the five crosses he tried and two of the six long balls he pinged.
Fernandes created two big chances.
He fired one shot – in the first half – which was on target and required the Plzen goalkeeper to swing into action.
The United playmaker completed two of the four dribbles he embarked on. He delved into nine ground duels and came out on top on four occasions. He was required to contest seven challenges in the air and he won four of them.
Fernandes made one clearance and as many tackles and interceptions.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
United return to Premier League action on Sunday, when they take on Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.
Featured image Gabriel Kuchta via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
