Man Utd 4-1 Real Sociedad (5-2 agg): Match report & 4 talking points as Amorim's team give statement performance

Manchester United have secured their place in the Europa League quarter-finals thanks to what turned into a thumping win over Real Sociedad at Old Trafford.

Mikel Oyarzabal briefly threatened to make it another miserable experience for United when he opened the scoring early on from the penalty spot. But Bruno Fernandes struck back with penalties of his own either side of half-time for Ruben Amorim's team.

Already trailing, Real Sociedad played the final half hour with ten players when Jon Aramburu was sent off, which only made their task even harder.

An impressive United performance eventually handed Fernandes his hat-trick late on, with Diogo Dalot even bagging a fourth at the very end.

How the game unfolded

La Real started on the front foot and United endured the worst possible start when Oyarzabal scored from 12 yards for the second European game running. The foul on the Spain forward from Matthijs de Ligt initially went unpunished in real time, but a lengthy VAR check resulted in the referee pointing to the spot. Oyarzabal, just as he did in the first leg, cooly converted.

But United responded well, awarded a penalty of their own just a few minutes later. Igor Zubeldia was the guilty party, bundling into the back of Rasmus Hojlund as the Dane was bearing down on goal in pursuit of Fernandes' square pass. The United skipper then stepped up equalise.

Drawing quickly level boosted United's confidence as the half progressed and there was positive work in good areas. Hojlund fired wide after good work from Joshua Zirkzee, although a possible offside might have ruled out a goal had the ball found the net.

La Real were under serious pressure as the interval neared, with Patrick Dorgu also threatening with a Paul Scholes-esque volley from the edge of the box that floated just over. The Danish wing-back had another chance right at the end of the half, firing straight at Alex Remiro with limited power.

A sustained spell of Unted possession around the Real Sociedad box straight after the restart culminated in Fernandes putting his team ahead from the spot, both on the night and in the tie. Zirkzee's eventual shot from open play had been well saved by Remiro, but the alert Dorgu was upended by Aritz Elustondo upon trying to make something of the rebound.

Twice in quick succession Remiro stopped balls from Dorgu and then Alejandro Garnacho from reaching Hojlund in the six-yard box, while United's advantage only grew when Aramburu was shown a straight red card for tripping Dorgu within minutes of coming on. The Danish wing-back was deemed to be denied a goalscoring opportunity after being played in by Zirkzee.

Zirkzee had two glorious chances to put things to bed late on, forcing Remiro into an excellent save after being played in with a wonderful disguised Fernandes pass, then heading wide after Noussair Mazraoui had nutmegged his marker to cross from the right.

The referee pointed to the spot for a fourth time when Hamani Traore challenged the impressive Dorgu. Traore was in disbelief and, to his credit, the United man was seen informing the official that he thought it wasn't a penalty either. That decision was ultimately overturned.

But La Real couldn't hold out any longer, as Fernandes completed his hat-trick in the closing stages to wrap things up. Garnacho played the crucial final pass as United broke forward, with the captain keeping his composure to fire low across Remiro.

The defensive intensity had disappeared by the time Dalot bagged the fourth. Dorgu was again involved, while Hojlund channelled 2000’s Fernando Redondo (if you know, you know), to set up the Portugal international for a clinical finish from the middle of the box.

Player ratings

Check out the player ratings from Manchester United vs Real Sociedad here.

Europa League a different story

Too often, United are giving themselves extra work to do. It's now ten of the last 12 games at Old Trafford in which Amorim's team have fallen behind.

It doesn't need to be quite as hard as it has been.

Fortunately, the Europa League has been United's respite this season. They responded really well to Mikel Oyarzabal's early penalty, having dominated the away leg in Spain in similar fashion.

In the last 29 Europa League games at Old Trafford, it's 22 wins, six draws and a single defeat. The only team to beat them in this competition over that time was, ironically, Real Sociedad in 2022.

United remain unbeaten in ten European outings this season alone and, despite domestic struggles, are arguably favourites to now go on and win the Europa League. With that would come Champions League qualification for next season and an absolute lifeline when getting into Europe next season via Premier League placing looks like it could be close to impossible.

Dorgu making Amorim's system come to life

Amorim landed the United job in November after forging himself a reputation as one of the brightest coaching minds in Europe at Sporting CP. But what he achieved in Lisbon was done so with a very specific tactical system that the squad he inherited in Manchester wasn't set up for.

Patrick Dorgu was one of only two players recruited during the January transfer window, but as a wing-back it was a clear sign that the squad was being shifted towards Amorim's way of thinking.

A recent domestic suspension aside, Dorgu has made a bright start to his United career and this was another indicator that the 20-year-old will prove to be a shrewd acquisition. He did everything a good wing-back should and played a decisive role overall, earning the second penalty that put his team ahead and forcing the red card that solidified United's control of the tie.

Hojlund determined

At the start of this week, Rasmus Hojlund was among five United players namedropped by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in a brutal dig. Of all of them – Antony, Andre Onana, Jadon Sancho and Casemiro – the Dane probably has the most to lose by being seen that way.

Amorim said on Wednesday that it was up to the players to prove Ratcliffe wrong in his assessments and Hojlund seemed determined to do just that from the opening kick-off. His teammates, who haven't always helped the 22-year-old, like when Diogo Dalot opted against a square pass for a simple tap-in in San Sebastian last week, also looked keen for him to impress too. That was clear when colleagues made a point of running over to Hojlund when he won the penalty.

Hojlund was putting himself about, making intelligent runs and planting the seeds of a dangerous partnership with Joshua Zirkzee in particular. He even set up the fourth goal for Dalot with a tremendous piece of individual skill, while the lack of a goal for himself doesn't detract.

Building for the future

Given the choice, Amorim decided not to start with Victor Lindelof in the back three. The Swede is out of contract at the end of the season and heading for the exit as a free agent.

18-year-old January signing Ayden Heaven represents the next chapter in the Manchester United story and got the nod instead of the vastly more experienced player.

Heaven had impressed coming off the bench against former club Arsenal at the weekend, replacing the injured Leny Yoro at half-time, and this was his full United debut since arriving.

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