Real Sociedad commentary, highlightsįULLTIME: It finishes 1-0 to Real Sociedad! The visitors are going wild in the dugout and in the away section of the stand. His role as back-up will likely continue for the time being. And yet, there's no doubt that United's attack has looked slicker and more balanced without him in it in recent weeks. He had a goal disallowed he missed a presentable opening he ran well, battled well, and generally looked up for the fight in a competition he tried so hard to escape. The experiment of Fred as a No.10 failed, and Casemiro doesn't look up to speed, so the midfield axis of Christian Eriksen and McTominay is, for now, the way forward.Īnd then there's Ronaldo. Similarly, Martinez's introduction off the bench gave the team a lift, and they really missed Dalot's attacking runs after he went off. Maguire performed capably here, but there's no doubt Varane is the better player, certainly at the moment. More importantly, it will have underlined some things about his squad that he probably knew already: namely, that his strongest side is the one he's settled on for top-flight duties. However, it will have halted some of the momentum Ten Hag had built through four consecutive Premier League wins. United have four matches to come against Sheriff of Moldova and Omonia of Cyprus and should be in a strong position to qualify for the knockout phase before they face Sociedad in San Sebastian on November 3, so this was far from a critical result in their European campaign. The Argentina international quelled several Sociedad attacks and progressed play superbly for his side, not least as they chased a leveller.ĭespite being on the pitch for just 45 minutes, he made the most recoveries (seven), tackles (three) and interceptions (two) and won all four of his duels. Summoned from the bench at half-time for Diogo Dalot, Martinez enjoyed another fine showing for United despite his misfortune of being at the heart of the key moment of the match. Real Sociedad 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 SeptemOutstanding Martinez deserved better 🇪🇺 Europe!!!This is us!!!! #UEL | #EuropaRS | #AurreraReala /osb3ldGfIa United pushed in search of an equaliser, Casemiro testing Remiro and Sancho missing the ball when presented with a close-range volley, but their four-match winning run came to a limp end.

Mendez fired his effort into the bottom-right corner, away from De Gea's outstretched hand. Referee Marco Di Bello pointed to the spot and, after a check, there was no intervention from VAR. Martinez raced to block Silva's shot from just inside the box, and the ball deflected off his leg and struck his arm with his back turned. Ronaldo and Alexander Sorloth each missed clear openings from close range before the key moment of the match came shortly before the hour mark. Ronaldo had an early opening snuffed out by some good defending before powering a header past Alex Remiro and into the net, but the offside flag was correctly raised against the Portugal star. Ten Hag recalled captain Harry Maguire to the starting lineup as well as Ronaldo, while Casemiro made his first start for the club, as Marcus Rashford was handed a rest and Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Scott McTominay, Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez all started on the bench. MORE: Antony stars on Manchester United debut United pushed for a leveller but looked short of ideas in attack as they fell to a third defeat of the season in all competitions. The defender was punished when the ball struck his arm after deflected off his leg as he charged down a David Silva shot, and VAR was not used to suggest overturning the decision. La Real took the lead early in the second-half after Lisandro Martinez conceded a penalty for handball with Brais Mendez scoring from the spot. A highly debatable penalty helped Real Sociedad beat Manchester United 1-0 on Thursday in the opening round of UEFA Europa League group-stage action.Ĭristiano Ronaldo was handed a starting spot for Erik ten Hag's much-changed side at Old Trafford, where the game went ahead despite the earlier news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

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