Manchester United kept their trophy hopes alive with a swaggering display that battered Real Sociedad and must be the Ruben Amorim blueprint.
From the moment they fell behind early on, his side were electrified, as if finally locating the high-voltage socket under him and gleefully plugging themselves in. United came at Real Sociedad relentlessly, a whir of energy and creativity that is the best advertisement yet for where their head coach might take them.
Bruno Fernandes crowned his and United’s night with a blistering hat-trick strike, running on to Alejandro Garnacho’s pass to blaze into the left corner to send United’s faithful ballistic and secure a quarter-final against Lyon.
As the captain said: “This club is all about winning. We have a long way to go, but we are confident that if we focus and have the right mentality we can win games.”
By the close, United had two legs versus Lyon – on 10 and 17 April – to navigate and make the semi-finals: they should fancy their chances to go all the way.
A Stretford End tifo-scale banner featuring United’s pitchfork-wielding red devil and an explosion of fireworks heralded kick-off but what followed was the visitors pummelling their hosts in an opening that closed with Imanol Alguacil’s men 1-0 ahead.
This was via their leader, Mikel Oyarzabal, claiming and converting a penalty. It was too simple for La Real as Fernandes failed to stop Aritz Elustondo’s low cross from the right, Ayden Heaven’s leg did the same at the near post, and down went Oyarzabal under Matthijs de Ligt’s clumsy challenge. The VAR sent Benoît Bastien to the monitor, the spot-kick was awarded. Oyarzabal beat André Onana with ease.
United struck back and would dominate the rest of the tie. Fernandes initiated the scoring move, aiming a ball for Rasmus Højlund, the striker was impeded from addressing due to Igor Zubeldia’s shove. Bastien awarded a second penalty and a Fernandes hop-and-skip prefaced a coolly-taken equaliser that went to Alex Remiro’s right, the keeper diving the other way.
Real Sociedad’s Jon Aramburu (no 19) and his teammates are left dumbfounded after his red card. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Suddenly, United were the buccaneering force via a muscular pace that exhilarated and pleased their head coach. Percussive passes were exchanged, players were pictures of motion and fluidity.
One sequence featured Fernandes tapping to Joshua Zirkzee, who passed to a Patrick Dorgu stampeding down the left. The wingback dinked over the ball, it reached Garnacho, and his shot was stymied.
As piercing, a little after, was the balletic Zirkzee footwork that allowed him to find Højlund whose flick narrowly missed.
The latter was joined in the starting XI by Onana and Casemiro, a trio who, according to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, form a not-so fabulous three, the owner referencing them this week as part of a band of squad members who are “overpaid and not good enough”.
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Throughout all showed the billionaire up as Onana’s confident handling and Casemiro’s cute positional sense complemented Højlund’s smart runs at goal. Another from the latter ensued when Dorgu broke through the inside-left channel: the Dane, overlapping, screamed to be fed but Dorgu decided to fire and the ball dribbled tamely into Remiro’s hands. Dorgu, earlier, hit a volley straight from a corner: it missed, too, rippling the roof of the net, but here was more of the inventive play that has been missing for an age from this team.
With the contest at 2-2 overall, the second half could be billed as 45 minutes to save United’s bid for silverware. They had the very best start. A raid ended with Zirkzee letting fly, Remiro palming the ball into Dorgu’s path and Elustondo, illegally, stopping the Dane’s run. A third penalty was given and Fernandes netted his second, this time aiming to Remiro’s left, the keeper guessing – again – the wrong side.
Cue rapture from the congregation who were witnessing the most complete performance under Amorim. Dorgu, too, was showing why the Portuguese signed him in the winter window, a next offering a scything burst down the left and pass over that would have been a toe-in for Højlund but for Remiro’s intervention.
United were bright and aggressive as Garnacho proved by sprinting to intercept a ball near goal, Remiro, whose loose pass it was, saving his blushes by clutching the cross. In a central zone, he fed Zirkzee who relayed to the excellent Højlund and he rampaged in, an effort missing marginally to his right.
Zirkzee and Dorgu were among United’s standouts and the two combined to have Jon Aramburu sent off. The first’s curving pass had the second cutting across the substitute who bundled him down and, as the last man, the busy Bastien had to issue the red card.
Real Sociedad were stunned. Now came Fernandes’s box-office finish plus a late Diogo Dalot bonus, Dorgu decorating his outing by insisting he should not be awarded a penalty when colliding with Hamari Traoré.
