Manchester United bounced back to claim victory over Rangers in tonight’s Europa League clash at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes held on in the 92nd minute box to put Ruben Amorim’s side back in front after Cyriel Dessers had equalized moments earlier for Rangers.
Before that, an own goal from Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland, who spent the first six months of 2023 on loan with the Red Devils, looked to be enough to decide the contest.
How the game unfolded
The first big chance came Rangers’ way ten minutes from time. United contributed by losing the ball in their own half, Toby Collyer piled into midfield after receiving a pass under pressure, which Nicolas Raskin slotted home. Altay Bayindir rushed and tripped Raskin at the critical moment as the U.S. goalkeeper came out on top.
Bayindir were back in action soon after, talking an attempted volley from international team-mate Ridvan Yilmaz.
United had dominated possession without creating much of a note, until midway through the first half when Alejandro Garnacho fired a shot at goal deflected over Raskin’s header. Matthijs de Ligt headed for the resulting corner, but a soft foul from Leny Yoro saw it ruled out.
A good team moved into the latter stages before half-time handed Amad Diallo a sight of goal, he fell to a measured pass from Bruno Fernandes. Butland did well to choke. He also gave a strong hand to a powerful drive from Lisandro Martinez, either side of a sharply deflected shot from Hamza Igamane who had a wrong-footed bayindir on goal to go away.
A few minutes into the second half, Igamane was responsible for some excellent defending in his own box when he swung in a corner from almost on the right under the crossbar.
Robin Propper continued the United States’ early pressure and Fernandes’ shot was deflected by Robin Propper, with the corner following Butland’s nightmare moment. The former England international never fully took off and was under the ball as he tried to punch clear, inadvertently sending it spinning backwards towards goal.
On the hour mark, Propper was the reason Garnacho didn’t make it 2-0 with a smart shot at goal from Amad’s cut-back, heading the ball off the line. There was also a chance for Harry Maguire with a deep header that narrowly missed the target. Butland redeemed himself a bit with a reflex save to deny Manuel Ugarte’s diving header and a parry from Garnacho.
Rangers struggled to create in the second as the USA’s superior depth showed, although there were warning signs before the equalizer arrived, first when Jefte crashed a shot from just outside the box straight in Bayindir, and then the posters hit the post with a smart lift over The United No. 1. His 88th minute goal was well taken, Maguire picking up, controlling the drop ball and firing hard and low into the bottom corner.
But the action is not over. United took the lead again and Martinez raced in from the back to deliver a welcoming appeal into the penalty area into the path of Fernandes, who found it on the volley to squeeze the ball through the legs of Butland and claim victory
Check out the Manchester United and Rangers player ratings from the game here.
After losing agonizingly to Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend, Ruben Amorim said he wanted the players to recapture the feeling they had when they twice fought back from a goal down to draw against Liverpool early on of this month
At the weekend, United had played reasonably well in the first half but allowed their heads to drop when Brighton went ahead again immediately after the interval. A lack of resilience is a criticism that has been leveled at the squad for several years and conceding a Rangers equalizer in this game could have been a killer blow in other circumstances.
But here the players rallied, going up the pitch and scoring again to claim victory.
The first half was a largely even contest and Rangers were good value at the interval, having done well to keep United at bay and create chances of their own.
But neither midfielder Connor Barron nor center Leon Balogun, both of whom had been crucial to those efforts in the opening 45 minutes, returned to the pitch. In Mark’s time, Vaclav Cerny was also forced off injured, leaving Philippe Clement to send inexperienced youngsters in his places.
The equalizer was quite out of the blue, a long point forward and a moment of individual skill from Cyriel Dessers. Rangers hadn’t really been in the game for a while.
Andre Onana has typically dominated the Europa League this season and was among the substitutes. Altay Bayindir, usually the goalkeeper in the Domestic Cup, started in his place.
It was not lost on the fans that Onana was at fault for his costly one against Brighton just days earlier, having come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks following the sort of mistakes that characterized his first US career it seemed to have returned to his game.
Amorim played down the importance of changing goalkeepers, previously describing it as “normal rotation” and explaining the importance of keeping Bayindir fresh and sharp with significant game time, keen to rule out the idea of ​​repercussions for Onana.
Bayindir had a good game overall, beaten by Dessers, but made other key saves.
Alejandro Garnacho’s presence in the starting lineup was a bit of a surprise, given his recent lack of starts and the speculation surrounding his uncertain future.
Amorim would not have selected the winger if there was even a hint of doubt that he was not up to the task and faith paid off.
Garnacho didn’t score or assist but was still a consistent threat and attacking outlet, registering more dribbles than anyone else on the pitch, racking up five shots and having nine touches of the ball inside the Rangers penalty area .
