Manchester United were denied a first-leg victory over Real Sociedad after a controversial penalty brought the Spanish side back into the game.
Joshua Zirkzee rebounded from his penalty pain against Fulham to give United the lead shortly before the hour mark, turning a low Alejandro Garnacho cross beyond Alex Remiro. It was all-square 20 minutes from time, though, and Ruben Amorim’s side won’t have been happy.
The video assistant referee sent on-field ref Ivan Kruzliak to the monitor and he penalised Bruno Fernandes for handball in the box. Mikel Oyarzabal made no mistake from the spot, setting up a tense final 20.
United will leave the game with mixed emotions after a depleted squad kept the hosts quiet for large periods. There might still be a feeling they could have taken a lead home for the second leg, though.
The opening half hour passed with little incident, save for an injury scare for United wing-back Patrick Dorgu. He was able to continue, though, and the visitors kicked on after that point and came closest to breaking the deadlock before half-time when Aritz Elustondo cleared a Fernandes effort off the line.
Another opening arrived for United five minutes into the second half, with Dorgu’s cross running all the way through to Alejandro Garnacho at the back post. The winger didn’t look confident with his finish, though, sending it tamely into the side-netting.
The breakthrough arrived not long after, and there was a brief period where they almost looked comfortable, but it wasn’t to be – with the hosts almost snatching a late equaliser as Orri Oskarsson poked just wide. Here are Mirror Football‘s talking points from a game that only came to life after the break.
1. VAR strikes again
During the VAR check leading up to Real Sociedad’s penalty, there may well have been some in the stadium confused about the offence being looked at. Sadly for the visitors, they were victims of a rule many may disagree with, but a rule nonetheless.
Bruno Fernandes will count himself unfortunate to be penalised for handball, but his arms were away from his body. That doesn’t make it any easier to take, of course.
The spot-kick came at a time when United were beginning to look comfortable against a flat Real Sociedad side. That timing will make it even more frustrating
2. The good and the bad from Garnacho
On November 28, Alejandro Garnacho scored in Ruben Amorim’s second match in charge as Manchester United beat Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League. He hasn’t netted since, and wasted a big opportunity at 0-0.
There have been positive performances from the Argentina international since – certainly enough to convince Amorim to push back against a sale in January. While the lack of goals will be a big concern, his part in Zirkzee’s opener can’t be overloooked.
Amorim attempted a fluid system, with his pair of 10s switching sides over the course of the match. This may well have been wat he had in mind, though one still wonders whether it would work against more capable opponents
3. Onana denied timely clean sheet
Andre Onana has made some high-profile mistakes this season, but he doesn’t appear to have let that dent his confidence. The United keeper was put under pressure inside the opening two minutes, only to respond with a dragback turn to take himself out of trouble.
With half an hour on the clock, that was more or less all he’d had to do. Real Sociedad had a bit of the ball in and around the United box, but didn’t force a save, but it was a little different in the second period when Onana did well to watch Bras Mendez’s long-range effort all the way and push it wide and then denied Oskarsson in stoppage-time.
Contrast the Cameroonian with opposite number Alex Remiro, who couldn’t get his feet right for United’s opener. After how this season has gone, a quiet night and a clean sheet would surely have been welcome, only for the officials to have other ideas.
4. Zubimendi a big miss
If fans of Arsenal and Liverpool were tuning into the match hoping to get a look at transfer target Martin Zubimendi, they were out of luck. The Spanish international was missing through illness, but will hope to be available for the return leg.
With Zubimendi absent, Imanol Alguacil named a midfield three of Luka Sucic, Benat Turrientes and Bras Mendez. The midfield play in the first half was deliberate if a little slow, and one wondered whether their main man might have been able to inject something a little different.
The 26-year-old has shown an ability to impress on the biggest stage, including in the Euro 2024 final. English audiences know a fair bit about him from that game, but if anything his reputation grew with his absence on Thursday night,
5. Amorim’s self-inflicted blows
When the time came for Manchester United to name their Europa League squad for the second half of the season, Chido Obi was some way from getting his first-team chance. It’s easy to understand why Amorim left the teenager out in favour of Jack Fletcher – who didn’t travel to San Sebastian – even if Obi’s performance against Fulham in the FA Cup might have left him ruing that decision.
Amorim’s hands were more or less tied on Thursday, with Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho playing behind Rasmus Hojlund. The only real attacking change available to the head coach would involve adding a central midfielder and pushing Bruno Fernandes forward as one of his two 10s.
In the end, Zirkzee and Garnacho were able to combine for an important goal. Having Obi as an option against his former club Arsenal on Sunday should be very welcome, though.
Speaking ahead of the match, Ruben Amorim defended his decision to only travel with 18 players. “When I do my squad, I’m trying to think about every aspect, of the formation of the kid, of the squad and not if it will look really well with the fans and the media,” he told reporters.
Given the paucity of United’s first 45 minutes, Amorim’s comments perhaps unveil a wider issue. If his other youngsters aren’t capable of making a positive difference to a team as limp as this, that feels like a problem in its own right.
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