Manchester United 2-1 Rangers: Bruno saves the day, Reds through in Europa
Manchester United bounced back from their woeful weekend performance with a win over Rangers in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. It took some navigating in a nervy end to the match, but Bruno Fernandes played the hero in front of the Stretford End in stoppage time to guarantee passage to the knockout round of the competition.
The Reds rotated a bit in the starting XI, with Amad moving back to wing back and Toby Collyer coming into the side with Christian Eriksen in midfield.
A difficult opening half of action didn’t quite spell doom in the same way as some other recent performances, but it did indicate the contest would be just that, a contest, despite the difference in quality between the two sides.
Manchester United scored in the first half through Matthijs De Ligt. He got on the end of a corner kick and headed the ball home at the near post, but the referee judged that he had fouled his defender to gain an advantage. The goal was waved off, and the match remained 0-0.
Perhaps the judgment was a bit harsh, and if that was the case, the universe certainly answered with a bit of karma. In the second half, an opportunity from another corner cross led to the opening goal, thanks to the poorly timed punch of Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland. The former United loanee arrived a bit late with his hand, and the ball somewhat spectacularly struck the back of his hand, redirecting into the net.
United struggled to add to the lead despite a couple of changes but never looked very uncomfortable until a long ball played in the 87th minute toward Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers. He gave a slight nudge to Harry Maguire to get clear in behind and finished past Altay Bayindir to stun Old Trafford.
Just when it seemed that United had thrown it away again they pulled a dramatic winner out of the hat. Bruno Fernandes finished off a nice move with Lisandro Martinez firing in a cross behind the last line. Bruno pounced and finished with a first-time hit to win the game in Fergie time at the Stretford End.
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