Manchester United won a dramatic Europa League contest against Rangers as Bruno Fernandes’ brilliant injury-time strike saw Ruben Amorim celebrate a welcome Old Trafford win.
Manchester United rescued three points in added time against Rangers as Ruben Amorim breathed a major sigh of relief.
United beat Rangers 2-1 in dramatic fashion in a crucial Europa League encounter. Rangers arrived at Old Trafford a point behind the Reds as both sides chased a top-eight finish in the Europa League group phase and automatic qualification to the knockout stage.
The hosts thought they had opened the scoring from Matthijs de Ligt’s first-half header, only to see the goal bizarrely disallowed for minimal contact between Leny Yoro and Robin Propper. But the Reds did find the opener from another corner in the second half as Jack Butland punched Christian Eriksen’s delivery into his own net.
United looked to be going on to take control of the game, but Rangers began to force chances and made United sweat. The visitors eventually got their reward as Cyriel Dessers scored a wonderful equaliser with just two minutes left of normal time.
But Bruno Fernandes arrived to United’s rescue, firing home a brilliant volley to win the game in injury time. Here, the Daily Star Sport looks at what Amorim would have learned from the night’s work.
Set pieces hoodoo breached
United have been ghastly at set-pieces under Amorim, ever since the Arsenal nightmare in his third game in charge to a VAR chalking off what would have been a second Brighton goal from Joao Pedro on Sunday for a foul in another woefully defendfree-kick, United’s set-piece coach, Carlos Fernandes, has been trending for all the wrong reasons.
However, United should have gone ahead in the first half from a corner after Matthijs de Ligt was wrongfully robbed of an opening goal after Yoro was ridiculously adjudged to have fouled Propper in the build-up.
Altay Bayindir had dealt strongly with deliveries into his box, while United eventually got the opening goal when Jack Butland punched a corner into his own net early in the second half.
Showing trust in Leny Yoro
It’s these kind of evenings that can make or break a player when the lights are shining the absolute brightest and there’s a banana skin fixture on their plateHowever, Amorim knew he could trust his young Frenchman on Thursday evening. It hasn’t been the easiest of starts for Leny Yoro; after spending a prolonged period on the sidelines, he has been thrust into the heart of a stuttering defence.
Yoro is still raw, but his talent is clear to see. And Amorim trusting him for nights like these will only help him reach his potential.
Collyer’s increased minutes
The 21-year-old midfielder started his first game under Amorim after being introduced from the bench in the three previous games. Collyer made his first-team debut under Erik ten Hag but had found himself out of Amorim’s squad early in his Old Trafford tenure.
However, Collyer appears to have won the trust of the Portuguese, starting alongside Bruno Fernandes as Amorim shuffled the pack in midfield, with Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte on the bench. The former Brighton Academy prospect survived an early scare as he gave the ball away on the edge of his box in the first half, with Bayindir coming to his rescue. Collyer’s energy and overall tidiness in possession, barring the early scare, was a positive on the highly-rated youngster as he looks to earn more minutes in Amorim’s midfield amid suggestions he could leave Old Trafford this month on loan in search of more first-team minutes.
Diogo Dalot’s position change
There hasn’t been a player that has frustrated Manchester United fans in recent weeks quite like Diogo Dalot playing full-back. And after Leny Yoro was substituted just before the hour mark, Dalot was shifted across to centre-back. There was some unease on social media after Amorim shifted him from full-back, but they were soon eased. “Dalot moves to RCB and looks completely at home. Who would’ve thought?,” one fan posted. And another added: “Dalot lowkey looking comfortable in RCB. The team seems natural because of the shape…”
