There was late drama at Old Trafford but Manchester United eventually emerged 2-1 victors against Rangers in their Europa League group stage game on Thursday.
It was the hosts who took the lead in the 52nd minute after an awful mistake from Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland as he punched the ball into his own net from a corner.
But after the goal, the hosts started taking things a bit too easy as mistakes started creeping in. And Cyriel Dessers made them pay, as he netted the equaliser in the 88th minute.
Rangers fans were delirious as they thought they would take a point home from their trip to Manchester but skipper Bruno Fernandes put a dagger through their hearts, popping up to score the winner in the second minute of added time.
Miss after miss again
The win meant the Red Devils are fourth heading into the final round of fixtures and barring a stunning mishap, they should qualify for the Round of 16.
While Ruben Amorim will be happy with the dramatic late win, he will not be happy with the number of chances spurned by his players. The match was yet another reminder as to why the head coach is desperate for a ruthless striker.
Alejandro Garnacho, Harry Maguire, Manuel Ugarte and Amad Diallo were all guilty of missing gilt-edged chances and their profligacy almost cost the team two points.
This has been the story of the season for the English giants with most of the players missing chances galore this campaign. hence the low number of goals scored.
Joshua Zirkzee, given another start after a few recent impressive displays, hardly troubled Butland in goal. He had one great chance but his shot was blocked.
Everytime the ball went wide, instead of taking a risk and running into the six-yard box, he always hanged back, waiting for the cut-back.
Skipper saves team’s blushes
The Dutchman is certainly more adept at playing with his back to goal while he possesses the ability to drop deep and link up play as compared to Rasmus Hojlund but he does not look like a natural finisher.
With INEOS not having any money to spend, things do not bode well for the 20-time English league champions for the rest of the season.
The captain once again took matters into his own hands to save his team’s blushes and was by far the most dangerous attacker out on the pitch on Thursday night.
Apart from the Portugal international and Amad , it is difficult to see where the goals will come from. The Ivorian was once again a bright spark, constantly taking the Rangers defenders on.
Amorim will be wrapping both of them up in cotton wool before United’s next Premier League game on Sunday against Fulham.
Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
