Manchester United faced off against Real Sociedad at the Old Trafford earlier tonight hoping to pick up a win in the second match of the two-legged-tie and proceed into the round of 16 of the Europa League. Although there were no goals at Old Trafford tonight, both sides had their fair share of opportunities to take the lead. Oyarzabal missed a penalty around the 10-minute-mark which was followed by Bruno Fernandes hitting the crossbar. Axel Tuanzebe almost broke the deadlock around the hour-mark but he was denied by the VAR after a quick review.
Let’s take a look at how each Manchester United player fared during the match against the Royals.
Dean Henderson – 7/10
A missed penalty, a last-ditch challenge, and a shot off the woodwork – The English shot-stopper had some nervy moments in between the sticks tonight despite the fact that the visitors could manage to get only a single shot on target throughout the ninety minutes. Nonetheless, fortune favours the brave and in this case, it certainly helped him in securing a clean sheet.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6.5/10
The England international put up a solid performance down the right flank as he didn’t let the Sociedad attackers get past him for as long as he was on the pitch.
Victor Lindelof – 7/10
The Swedish centre-back made numerous well-timed tackles and challenges to help his side keep things tidy at the back.
Eric Bailly – 7/10
The Ivorian defender paired well with Lindelof to fend off the threats posed by the Real Sociedad attackers. Furthermore, he looked calm and composed on the ball even in tight situations.
Alex Telles – 7/10
The Brazilian full-back made some good overlapping runs to support the developing attacks down the left flank. He looked good attacking wise and put up a decent performance in his own half of the pitch as well.
Fred – 6.5/10
The Brazilian international actively took part in the attacking proceedings today and he could’ve easily gotten himself an assist in the first half of the contest. His ball retention was decent as well.
Nemanja Matic– 6.5/10
The Serbian midfielder was fully aware of the opponents’ positioning on the pitch and hence, he could easily close down the channels at the centre of the park.
Daniel James – 6/10
The Welsh international conceded a penalty around the 12-minute-mark but was lucky enough to get away with it. Later, he had a golden chance to open the scoreline but his close-range header was straight to Remiro.
Bruno Fernandes – 7/10
The Portuguese playmaker looked very sharp throughout the game and was perhaps unlucky to have hit the woodwork in the first half. Besides, his passes were spot-on tonight.
Mason Greenwood – 6.5/10
The 19-year-old’s pace and agility helped his side to initiate attacks down the right-wing. He often dropped back in order to help Wan-Bissaka defensively.
Anthony Martial – 6/10
The French striker took a number of shots over the course of the game but never really looked like he had a goal in him.
SUBSTITUTES
Brandon Williams – 6.5/10
The 20-year-old showed the much-needed aggression to put the visitors on the back foot in the second half.
Axel Tuanzebe – 6.5/10
He found the back of the net around the 62-minute-mark but the goal was later ruled offside due to a foul in the build-up. Apart from that, he did really well to shield the back-four in the second forty-five minutes.
Marcus Rashford – 7/10
The Englishman came on as a second-half substitute and provided United with some extra energy going forward.
Amad Diallo – 6/10
Diallo didn’t get too many chances to make things happen.
Shola Shoretire – 6/10
Ditto as Diallo, he didn’t get too much time on the ball.
