Man Utd 2-1 Rangers: Match report & talking points following late Europa League drama

Manchester United hit back in stoppage time to secure victory over Rangers in Thursday night’s Europa League clash at Old Trafford.

Bruno Fernandes kept his cool in the box in the 92nd minute to put Ruben Amorim’s team back in front after Cyriel Dessers had equalised just moments earlier for Rangers.

Before that, a comical own goal from Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland, who spent the first six months of 2023 on loan with the Red Devils, looked it would be enough to decided the contest.

How the game unfolded

The first big chance went the way of Rangers ten minutes in. United contributed by losing the ball in their own half, Toby Collyer crowded out in midfield after receiving a pass under pressure, resulting in Nicolas Raskin going through on goal. Altay Bayindir rushed out and a stumble from Raskin at the critical moment saw the United goalkeeper come out on top.

Bayindir was called into action again soon afterwards, parrying a volleyed attempt from international teammate Ridvan Yilmaz.

United had dominated possession without creating much of note, until midway through the first half when Alejandro Garnacho fired a shot at goal that was deflected over the bar off the head of Raskin. Matthijs de Ligt headed in the resultant corner, but a soft foul from Leny Yoro saw it ruled out.

A fine team move into the latter stages before half-time handed Amad Diallo a sight of goal, slid in with a measured Bruno Fernandes pass. Butland came out well to smother. He also got a strong hand to a powerful Lisandro Martinez drive, either side of a heavily deflected shot from Hamza Igamane that had a wrongfooted Bayindir sprawling across goal to push away.

Within a few minutes of the second half beginning, Igamane was responsible for excellent defending in his own box when he headed away an in-swinging corner from almost right under the crossbar.

The early United pressure continued and Fernandes’ goal-bound shot was agonisingly deflected over by Robin Propper, with the corner that followed Butland’s nightmare moment. The former England international never fully took off and was under the ball as he attempted to punch clear, inadvertently sending it spinning backwards into the goal instead.

On the hour mark, Propper was the reason Garnacho didn’t make it 2-0 with a clever shot across goal from Amad’s cutback, knocking the ball off the line with his head. There was also a chance for Harry Maguire with a back-post header that narrowly missed the target. Butland somewhat redeemed himself with a reflex save to deny Manuel Ugarte’s diving header, and a parry from Garnacho.

Rangers were struggling to create in the second as United’s superior depth showed, yet there were warning signs before the equaliser came, first as Jefte hit a dipping shot from outside the box straight at Bayindir, and later Dessers striking the post with a clever lift over the United No.1. His 88th minute goal was well taken, outmaneuvering Maguire, controlling the dropping ball and shooting hard and low into the far bottom corner.

But the action wasn’t over. United pushed back and Martinez advanced from the back to delivering an inviting cross into the penalty area into the path of Fernandes, who met it on the volley to squeeze the ball through Butland’s legs and claim the win.

Player ratings

Check out the Manchester United and Rangers player ratings from the match here.

Man Utd show fight & spirit

After losing painfully against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, Ruben Amorim said he wanted players to recapture the feeling they had when twice fighting back from a goal down to secure a draw against Liverpool earlier this month.

At the weekend, United had played reasonably well in the first half, but allowed their heads to drop when Brighton retook the lead immediately after the interval. A lack of resilience is a criticism that has been levelled at the squad for several year and conceding a late Rangers equaliser in this game could have been a killer blow in other circumstances.

But, here, the players rallied, going up to the end of the pitch and scoring again to claim victory.

Enforced changes killed off Rangers

The first half was a largely even contest and Rangers were good value for being level at the interval, having done well to mostly keep United at bay and create chances of their own.

But neither midfielder Connor Barron nor centre-back Leon Balogun, both of whom had been crucial to those efforts in the opening 45 minutes, returned to pitch. By the hour mark, Vaclav Cerny was also forced off injured, leaving Philippe Clement to send on inexperienced youngsters in their places.

The equaliser was quite out of the blue, a long punt forward and a moment of individual skill from Cyriel Dessers. Rangers hadn’t really been in the game for a while by that stage.

A night off for Onana

Andre Onana has usually had the nod in the Europa League this season and was sat among the substitutes for this one. Altay Bayindir, typically the domestic cup goalkeeper, started instead.

It wasn’t lost on fans that Onana was guilty of a costly blunder against Brighton only a few days earlier, having come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks after the kind of errors that characterised his early United career seem to have crept back into his game.

Amorim downplayed the significance of switching goalkeepers, describing it pre-game as “normal rotation” and explaining the importance of keeping Bayindir fresh and sharp with meaningful playing time, keen to dismiss the idea of repercussions for Onana.

Bayindir had a good game on the whole, beaten by Dessers but making other key saves.

Garnacho would be a loss

Alejandro Garnacho’s presence in the starting lineup came as a little bit of a surprise given his recent lack of starts and the speculation surrounding his uncertain future.

Amorim wouldn’t have selected the winger had there been even a shred of doubt that he wasn’t up to the task and the faith was repaid.

Garnacho didn’t score or assist but he was still a consistent threat and attacking outlet, registering more dribbles than anyone else on the pitch, racking up five shots and having nine touches of the ball inside the Rangers penalty area.

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