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Nick juddTransfer writer
A double from Bruno Fernandes and goals from Marcus Rashford and Daniel James gave Manchester United a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad in Turin in a frenzied encounter in the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday.
United were always dangerous in attack, but it was Fernandes, who scored his 32nd and 33rd goals for United, who starred. First, he took advantage of a comical confusion between the Real Sociedad defense to score on an empty goal and break the deadlock before combining perfectly with James for an impressive second. Rashford added a third with his 17th European goal when he converted his third one-on-one of the night, and James completed the win with a well-deserved goal.
United could have won more convincingly if Alejandro Remiro hadn’t turned down Rashford and Mason Greenwood. James also had another effort scored for offside. The Society rarely threatened United’s goal in response and now has a mountain to climb in the second leg at Old Trafford.
United’s victory ends a nine-match winless streak against Spanish opposition in European competition.
Positive
After a series of unconvincing matches in the Premier League, United returned to their best. His movement was superb and the quality of the passes in the last third sumptuous.
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Negative
It was difficult to criticize United’s performance, such was their dominance, but they started the game slowly. On another night, your carelessness might have seen them drop one or two in the first five minutes. They might also wonder how they didn’t win by more.
Manager rating out of 10
9 – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw his team survive a reckless start, but United dominated from then on. He even got a chance to trade his players in the second half and give Amad Diallo a first taste of action.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players submitted after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Dean Henderson, 7 – Henderson made a good early save to deny Sociedad a good start, then proceeded to dominate his area with a commanding vocal performance. His distribution was also good, the goalkeeper once prepared a United attack.
DF Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 6 years old – The right-back was caught out of position on more than one occasion and was walking a tightrope with the referee after a questionable challenge or two. As always, he loved to move on.
DF Eric Bailly, 6 years old A committed performance from Bailly, who recovered well after making two unforced errors early on. He seemed a bit shaky given it was his first game since he came back from injury, but he got the job done.
DF Harry Maguire, 7 – Maguire certainly seems to play better when he’s with Bailly. He made several key blocks, and his distribution to Scott McTominay and Fred was excellent throughout.
DF Alex Telles, 6 – Telles was always looking to advance the overlap and broke the lines well. United enjoyed a number of passing opportunities, but looked better up front than defense.
MF Scott McTominay, age 8 – The Scotsman was given a lot of freedom to advance and was a constant threat. He could have and perhaps should have done better when, after a career in the Society area, he shot Remiro directly when he should have crossed the goal.
MF Fred, 8 – Fred was everywhere. Along with McTominay, he was quick to put pressure on David Silva and Mikel Merino and neither had the space or time to create. He was excellent doing his dirty work, allowing McTominay to attack. His pass to Rashford for United’s third was accurate.
MF Bruno Fernandes, 9 – Fernandes had so much space and he exploited it well. He opened the scoring when, after a speculative pass that caused confusion in the defense of the Company, he calmly conceded to an empty goal. Earlier, he had put the ball on a plate for Rashford, who missed one-on-one. Then he added a second after a flawless one-two with James.
FW Mason Greenwood, 6 – Greenwood may have viewed the opportunities Rashford enjoyed with a bit of jealousy, as he was more of a spectator in a wide position. He got more into the game in the second half, but couldn’t upset Remiro.
FW Daniel James, 8 – James bonded well with Rashford and Fernandes and it was because of his touch that United thought they had taken a second; Fernandes’ effort was ruled out for offside. The offside flag then denied James a goal, which would have been United’s fourth, but it was a good ending nonetheless. He saw another effort saved by Remiro’s legs before finally finding the net, a clean shot and a goal his performance deserved.
FW Marcus Rashford, 8 – The forward had two wonderful opportunities to open the scoring when he cleared on goal in the first exchanges. Both were well denied by Remiro, but it was the third time he was lucky when he got into the corner when Fred let him go. His careers behind defending the Society were exceptional.
Substitutes
MF Nemanja Matic, 6 – Matic continued Fred’s fierce protection of United’s defense and allowed the Brazilian to advance in McTominay’s absence.
DEL Anthony Martial, 6 – Martial must have been licking his lips at the prospect of attacking a poor defense, but he was most effective when he fell back and worked hard for his team.
MF Juan Mata, N / R – Mata didn’t have much time to impress in his first game since early January, but had a saved shot on goal later.
MF Amad Diallo, N / R – United’s advantage ensured that Diallo could step out and enjoy his seven-minute cameo on his debut.
