Manchester United nicked a sneaky 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.
It was a low-energy performance by Man United, who lacked urgency or aggression in front of the goal. Fortunately, Rasmus Hojlund showed some silky finishing to save his club from certain embarrassment, scoring two goals after coming off the bench.
After a slow start, Joshua Zirkzee rushed forward, dribbling past four players before his through ball was deflected out for a corner. While Amad Diallo’s corner kick fell short, Zirkzee’s enthusiastic solo effort made for a promising start.
Bruno Fernandes made a wreckless tackle, handing the hosts an unnecessary free kick. While Diogo Dalot cleared the danger after Andre Onana missed the ball with his jump, the goalkeeper clashed with Casemiro, injuring his chest. Fortunately, Casemiro was able to return to his feet and return to action.
While United attempted a few counters in the minutes that followed, they struggled to control the game in the midfield, with Plzen keeping up the defensive pressure. It was also the hosts who appeared more confident on the ball, showing more passing coherence.
After 20 minutes, United broke through the hosts’ defence. Amad carried the ball forward; however, instead of passing to Fernandes, who was perfectly positioned in the centre, he played the ball off to Marcus Rashford on the left, who blasted his effort well wide. It was a poor decision by Amad, with Fernandes sprinting into space right in front of goal.
Minutes later, Amad received the ball in the final third, taking a shot that was blocked by the defence and then caught by the Viktoria keeper.
A little before the half-hour mark, Plzen almost found a breakthrough when Cadu crossed to Matěj Vydra in the centre; however, his first touch was a poor one. United needed to find their focus to avoid going behind.
Casemiro intercepted the ball in United’s final third, threading the ball to Fernandes, who took a thunderous long-range shot to force a diving save from the goalkeeper. Easily United’s best scoring opportunity so far.
After three minutes of stoppage time were announced, Rashford pushed down Lukáš Červ, receiving a yellow card as a result.
All in all, it was a poor first-half showing from United, who lacked any aggression or urgency in the attack. In fact, it appeared as if the team was happy to simply settle for a goalless draw.
Ruben Amorim would need to deliver a convincing team talk in order to whip his underperforming team into shape.
Three minutes after the restart, the home team found a breakthrough. Yet again, Onana made a risky short pass in his own third, giving the ball away and enabling Vydra to score. It was another moment to forget for United, though one cannot help but feel that they deserved to concede, given their subpar performance so far.
After taking down another player and risking a second booking, Rashford made way for Rasmus Hojlund. It was another disappointing outing for Rashford, with his yellow card only pushing Amorim’s decision to take him off prematurely.
Soon after coming on, Hojlund intercepted a pass at the back, with only one defender standing between him and the keeper. While he beat the centre-back, Hojlund’s effort was saved by the keeper.
Amorim then decided to bring on more fresh legs, replacing Zirkzee with Mason Mount and Tyrell Malacia with Antony.
Moments after coming on, Antony played a through ball to Amad, who took a shot that was deflected into the path of Hojlund. The Dane simply tapped the ball into the net from there, levelling the score.
With 20 minutes to go, Fernandes played an opportune through ball across the face of goal. Unfortunately, Hojlund could not get to the ball in time, allowing a prime scoring opportunity to go to waste.
Seconds later, it was Plzen on the attack, with Vyora getting on the end of a cross. Fortunately for United, his volley strayed inches wide of the near post.
Mount came close to scoring, getting on the end of a ball from Amad and attempting to fire the ball under the approaching keeper. The goalkeeper did well to react quickly to collect the shot from close range.
With less than 10 minutes of normal time to play, Manuel Ugarte came on for Casemiro while Alejandro Garnacho replaced Dalot.
In the 86th minute, Hojlund threaded a through ball to Mount, whose shot was saved yet again. A sporadic fast counter by United.
Following a foul, United received an opportune free-kick. Fernandes threaded a long ball to Hojlund, who took a slick first touch before hammering the ball into the far corner of the net, handing United an unlikely lead.
The fourth official announced six minutes of stoppage time, with United’s attack going three-on-two with the hosts’ defence. Unbelievably, they wasted their scoring opportunity, as Antony received a late pass on the left flank and had to take a quick shot from a tight angle that the keeper saved.
While United held on for the victory, it was an uncomfortable win for Amorim’s side, considering how much they struggled against a clearly weaker opponent. Still, it was a valuable three points for United, who are now closer to securing automatic qualification for the Europa League knockouts.
Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Fernandes, Rashford, Zirkzee, Malacia, Amad, Casemiro, Dalot
Subs: Hojlund, Antony, Mount, Ugarte, Garnacho
Featured image Gabriel Kuchta via Getty Images
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Mathew Cohen
A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.
