Manchester United delivered the best performance of the Ruben Amorim era as they thrashed Real Sociedad 4-1 at Old Trafford to reach the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals.
Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and Diogo Dalot smashed in a late strike to secure a 5-2 aggregate win over the Spanish side, who were reduced to 10 men in the second half.
Mikel Oyarzabal equalised with a penalty in the first-leg draw, and La Real’s captain struck the first blow on Thursday, converting a confident spot-kick after a long VAR check eventually deemed Matthijs de Ligt to have fouled the forward in the six-yard box.
Some may have feared that United’s players, some of them criticised by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe this week, could have wilted under the pressure as they chased a game they simply had to win to rescue their season. In the end, they need not have worried.
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Man United vs. Real Sociedad final score
| FT (Aggregate) | Goal scorers | |
| Man United | 4 (5) | Fernandes (p) 16′, (p) 50′, 87′, Dalot 90+1′ |
| Real Sociedad | 1 (2) | Oyarzabal (p) 10′ |
Red card: Jon Aramburu, 63′
Starting lineups:
Man United (3-4-2-1, right to left): 24. Andre Onana (GK) — 3. Noussair Mazraoui, 4. Matthijs de Ligt, 26. Ayden Heaven — 20. Diogo Dalot, 18. Casemiro (43. Toby Collyer), 8. Bruno Fernandes, 13. Patrick Dorgu — 11. Joshua Zirkzee (14. Christian Eriksen), 17. Alejandro Garnacho — 9. Rasmus Hojlund
Real Sociedad (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Alex Remiro (GK) — 6. Aritz Elustondo (18. Hamari Traore), 5. Igor Zubeldia (19. Jon Aramburu), 21. Nayef Aguerd, 3. Aihen Munoz — 28. Pablo Marin (22. Benat Turrientes), 4. Martin Zubimendi, 23. Brais Mendez — 11. Sheraldo Becker (7. Ander Barrenetxea), 10. Mikel Oyarzabal, 14. Takefusa Kubo (9. Orri Oskarsson)
Fernandes got his first from the spot just six minutes after Oyarzabal’s opener, the United skipper making no mistake after Rasmus Hojlund had been taken out from behind.
United were the better side and deserved the lead Fernandes gave them with his second penalty after 50 minutes, even if the decision to award a foul against Patrick Dorgu was debatable.
The contest was then effectively killed just past the hour mark, Sociedad substitute Jon Aramburu given a straight red card after bringing down Dorgu. The full-back was deemed to have prevented a clear goal-scoring opportunity, even though the foul occurred far from the visitors’ goal.
A third United penalty was overturned, Dorgu even telling the referee that he had not been fouled by Hamari Traore, but Fernandes picked his spot at the end of a fine attacking move to ensure he would not be denied his hat-trick.
The excellent Hojlund could not end his long wait for a goal, but he did produce a sublime piece of skill before setting up Dalot to score his side’s fourth. Ligue 1 side Lyon await in the quarterfinals, and on this evidence, they will be hard pushed to stop the Red Devils.
Man United vs. Real Sociedad stats
| Man United | Stat | Real Sociedad |
| 25 | Shots | 10 |
| 8 | Shots on target | 3 |
| 4.02 | Expected goals | 1.05 |
| 61% | Possession | 39% |
| 478 | Passes | 324 |
| 6 | Corners | 4 |
| 6 | Fouls | 13 |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 7 |
| 0 | Red cards | 1 |
| 1 | Offsides | 2 |
Man United vs. Real Sociedad highlights, key events
90+1 mins: DALOT MAKES IT FOUR! Hojlund skips past Hamari Traore in a manner reminiscent of Fernando Redondo for Real Madrid on this ground many years ago. He cuts it back for Dalot, who smashes it high into the net.
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87 mins: FERNANDES GETS HIS HAT-TRICK! Alejandro Garnacho leads a quick break, delays the pass and then slips it through to Fernandes, who drills a low finish past the static Remiro. Game over!
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63 mins: RED CARD! Jon Aramburu is sent off for bringing down Dorgu as he ran through on goal from Zirkzee’s pass. The foul was a long way from goal, but the officials deemed it a denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity as there was no covering defender.
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50 mins: FERNANDES FROM THE SPOT AGAIN! The captain sends Alex Remiro the wrong way once more. The decision came after Patrick Dorgu had collided with Aritz Elustondo, and it looked a little harsh.
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15 mins: FERNANDES EQUALISES! Rasmus Hojlund is wiped out as he looks to turn in Fernandes’ cross, and the referee points to the spot again. Fernandes finds the bottom corner. 1-1!
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10 mins: OYARZABAL SCORES FROM THE SPOT AGAIN! The captain makes no mistake from 12 yards after a long, long VAR check sees Matthijs de Ligt penalised for fouling the forward. Real Sociedad lead on aggregate.
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Man United vs. Real Sociedad lineups, team news
With United’s injury problems continuing in defence, Ruben Amorim hands a first start to Ayden Heaven, who joins Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in a back three missing the injured Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro and Lisandro Martinez.
Patrick Dorgu plays given he is serving a domestic suspension, but Manuel Ugarte is not fit enough to start in midfield. That means Casemiro joins Bruno Fernandes again at the heart of the side, with both Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund in attack.
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Mason Mount is back in team training but will not be rushed back. Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Jonny Evans, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo are still out, and Chido Obi is ineligible for this competition.
Man United lineup (3-4-2-1, right to left): Onana (GK) — Mazraoui, De Ligt, Heaven — Dalot, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu — Zirkzee, Garnacho — Hojlund
Man United subs: Mee, Harrison, Lindelof, Eriksen, Ugarte, Amass, Collyer, Fredricson, Fletcher, Scanlon
MORE: Harry Maguire speaks to The Sporting News about “togetherness” for Europa League run
Real Sociedad suffered a big blow as they were forced to travel without midfielder Luka Sucic, whose persistent knee problem has ruled him out of the second leg.
Jon Pacheco and Alvaro Odriozola also miss out with injury, along with long-term absentee Arsen Zakharyan, but there’s a welcome return to midfield for Martin Zubimendi.
Imanol Alguacil rotated his team for the weekend loss to Sevilla but restores several first-team regulars to the lineup here. Mikel Oyarzabal and Takefusa Kubo come back in, along with goalkeeper Alex Remiro and left-back Aihen Munoz. There is also a start for Sheraldo Becker, who caused United problems as a substitute last week.
Real Sociedad lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Remiro (GK) — Elustondo, Zubeldia, Aguerd, Munoz — Marin, Zubimendi, Mendez — Becker, Oyarzabal, Kubo
Real Sociedad subs: Marrero, Barrenetxea, Oskarsson,Lopez, Olasagasti, Gomez, Traore, Aramburu, Turrientes, Martin, Beitia, Mariezkurrena
Man United vs. Real Sociedad head to head
The first leg was the seventh meeting between these teams and the third to end in a draw. La Real have only beaten United once.
| Man United wins | Draws | Real Sociedad wins |
| 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Biggest win: 4-0 (2021) |
Biggest win: 1-0 (2022) |
Man United vs. Real Sociedad live stream, TV channel
