Manchester United Clinch Top-Eight UEFA Europa League Spot After Dessers’ Late Scare

Share:

Super Eagles striker, Cyriel Dessers, thought he had got a goal to give Rangers a share of the spoils at Old Trafford but Bruno Fernandes scored the winner as Manchester United booked a place in the UEFA Europa League knock-out stage on Thursday.

The Red Devils had a goal by Matthijs De Ligt disallowed midway through the first half which ended goalless, before finding the breakthrough thanks to Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland’s own goal in the 52nd minute.

Butland had misjudged a cross from Christian Eriksen and punched the ball into the back of his own net. He nearly needed to pick the ball out of his net again minutes later but was relieved to see Alejandro Garnacho’s effort hit the post on the hour mark.

United looked set for a narrow win until Rangers struck in the 88th minute through Dessers, with the Nigerian taking full advantage of a defensive error by Harry Maguire.

But Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes grabbed a dramatic stoppage time winner, smashing a first-time shot off a Lisandro Martinez cross and through Butland’s legs to seal a crucial win for Ruben Amorim’s side.

Elsewhere in the Europa League on Thursday, Lazio booked a spot in the knock-out stage and all-but sealed top spot in the league phase thanks to a 3-1 win over 10-man Real Sociedad in Rome.

Eintracht Frankfurt started life after Omar Marmoush with a 2-0 win to go second, ahead of Athletic Club that lost 4-1 at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Besiktas earlier on Wednesday.

Tottenham Hotspur moved to sixth with 14 points thanks to a 3-2 win at Hoffenheim while Olympique Lyon played out a goalless draw at Fenerbahce to drop to fifth, one point and one place behind Manchester United.

Share:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

join our community

Join our community at SportsDey and get the best sports content delivered straight to you.