(Football news) Manchester United narrowly avoided a humiliating defeat to Omonia Nicosia thanks to a second half comeback that secured a 3–2 win for the Red Devils. The hosts, who are fourth in the Cypriot league, took the lead in the 34th minute from a quick break with Karim Ansarifard finding the back of the net. Ten Hag finally featured Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro in the starting lineup and later introduced Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw in the second half. Rashford made all the difference with a fantastic finish before fellow substitute Anthony Martial scored the second goal. Ronaldo, who had a largely disappointing match provided the assist for Rashford’s second as Manchester United went on to secure a 3-2 victory.

Ronaldo, who has failed to make his mark on the season so far, looked desperate to finally get his season going with his 700th career goal but simply couldn’t find the back of the net. The Portuguese player missed a sitter from six yards out, hitting the post and was a forlorn figure for the majority of the match. The result has ensured that Manchester United are now in a good position in Group E following back-to-back wins after a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad in the opening game at Old Trafford. One of the major positives for Ten Hag would be Rashford’s form as the 24 year old has already bettered his assists tally and matched his goals scored as compared to the 2021/22 season.

Speaking after the match, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said “I think we started well, a couple of chances and then an unnecessary mistake. It cannot happen – you have to take responsibility there. Then a really bad 10 minutes and we have to learn from that. We were too static and you have to make opposite movements to get behind. That's why we also made two subs and they had an impact. I think the subs really had an impact today and that is really good to make the team stronger. On Martial: "We have already seen in pre-season. It was a big disappointment for this team and for me when he got injured. We missed him and that also had an effect on our performance." 

Also read: Xabi Alonso to take over the head coach role at Bayer Leverkusen