Real Sociedad vs Manchester United. UEFA Europa League Knockout Play-offs.
Juventus Stadium.
Match report as Manchester United take complete control of Europa League round-of-32 tie; Bruno Fernandes (two), Marcus Rashford and Daniel James strikes end three-game winless run and secure dominant first-leg lead ahead of next week's return at Old Trafford
Friday 19 February 2021 05:57, UK
Manchester United returned to winning ways in style to put one foot in the last 16 of the Europa League with a crushing 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad in Turin.
It was another vintage away performance from United, who came through some early shaky moments thanks to the genius of Bruno Fernandes and an imperious display of counter-attacking football.
United led at the break after Fernandes capitalised on chaotic Sociedad defending, before the Portugal international double their advantage with a brilliant curled effort which survived the tightest of VAR offside reviews before the hour-mark.
United then cut loose as Marcus Rashford and Daniel James broke away to plunder further goals to secure a memorable fourth victory in Turin which all but puts the tie beyond Sociedad, who failed to harness the talents of David Silva on a forgettable night for the La Liga club.
Adnan Januzaj dominated the build-up to the game ahead of his first reunion with Manchester United, and the Belgian nearly haunted the club where it all began inside the opening two minutes with a curled effort which whistled past the angle of post and bar.
That set the tone for a frenetic and entertaining contest, with both sides readily trading blows. United hit back a minute later, with Rashford's low drive thwarted by the legs of Sociedad goalkeeper Alejandro Remiro.
His opposite number Dean Henderson was called into action a minute later to tip Alexander Isak's near-post drive around the post, but United emerged from the all-action start with a measure on control and created a host of chances.
A trademark United counter on 19 minutes ended with Fernandes squaring for Rashford, who saw another low drive cannon off the legs of Remiro, before Fernandes' headed rebound was hacked off the line.
The pressure told shortly before the half-hour mark, with Rashford and Fernandes combining again as the England international's lofted pass over the top sparked panic in the Sociedad backline.
Centre-backs Robin Le Normand and Igor Zubeldia collided with goalkeeper Remiro while attempting to cut out Rashford's pass, and Fernandes was on hand to mop up, slotting his 20th goal of the season into the unguarded net.
United were well worth their lead but had to be alert to prevent Sociedad from restoring parity, with Mason Greenwood and Harry Maguire called into last-gasp blocks either side of the interval.
But United's lethal threat on the counter guided them to a resounding victory, with Fernandes dummying Rashford's pass to James before wrapping the winger's return pass into the bottom corner to double the advantage on 57 minutes.
The effort was initially ruled out for offside, but VAR confirmed the goal and United didn't look back from there with Rashford finally getting on the scoresheet at the third attempt with a composed finish past Remiro after Fred's perfectly weighted through pass.
James looked to have fired a fourth in off the post soon after, only for it to be ruled out for offside after VAR intervened in Sociedad's favour, but the Welshman was not to be denied.
After Amad Diallo came on for his Manchester United debut, James completed the rout with a brilliant solo run and finish through the goalkeeper's legs from a tight angle as United had another night to savour in Turin.
Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told BT Sport: "We scored some good goals, played some nice football against a good team. We deserved to win, maybe not 4-0, but on a night like this with the space we had we can be a good team.
"When you don't have the ball as much you have to defend well, which we did, because they had some terrific players up front. We defended really well and earned the right to counter-attack quickly, and the more the game went on things opened up a lot and we got the space we wanted.
"We feel we are a work in progress, we are learning, the season has been a little inconsistent, with some games we've not been able to win lately, but I felt we got the X-factor back today."
Real Sociedad head coach Imanol Alguacil: "They are very high quality at a physical level, technical level. They are skilled, it's a team of champions that we were facing.
"United are a great side, that's what happened tonight. We want to show our style of play at Old Trafford."
Who else?
Another inspirational display saw the Portuguese take his European goal tally for Manchester United to nine goals - only former United striker Romelu Lukaku has scored more since Fernandes made his debut in February 2020.
Real Sociedad host Alaves in La Liga on Sunday at 3.15pm and Manchester United host Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday at 7pm, before United host Sociedad in their Europa League round-of-32 second leg at Old Trafford on Thursday at 8pm.
