(Football news) A goal by Alejandro Garnacho helped Manchester United secure a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad at the Reale Seguros Stadium in the UEFA Champions League. However, the result meant that the Red Devils finished second in Group E, narrowly missing out on the top spot due to goal difference. This means that they will have to compete in a two leg playoff match against a Champions League team that finished in third place in their group. Erik ten Hag’s side needed to win by two goals to overtake Sociedad and scored the opening goal in the 17th minute when a through ball by Cristiano Ronaldo found Garnacho who blasted the ball into the top corner.
The goal meant that Garnacho overtook the legendary George Best as Manchester United’s youngest non English goalscorer in a European competition. The Argentine then missed an opportunity 10 minutes later, with his shot blazing over while Ronaldo missed a fantastic chance just before half-time. David de Gea kept Manchester United in the lead with an impressive double save and Erik ten Hag introduced in-form Marcus Rashford in the second half to get that all-important second goal but to no avail. In team news, Ten Hag made three changes to his side with Victor Lindelof replacing Harry Maguire while Donny van de Beek came in for Anthony Elanga and Alejandro Garnacho replacing Marcus Rashford.
The Europa League play off draw is set to take place on Monday, 7th November and Manchester United could face tough opponents such as Juventus, Barcelona or Ajax. The draw will be held at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland with the eight group runner-ups seeded to face eight third-placed sides from the Champions League group stage. Meanwhile, the group winners in the Europa League will automatically qualify for the knockout stage and will be drawn against the play-off winners on February 24th. No two teams from the same country are eligible to be drawn against each other in either the play-off round or the knockout stage of the competition.
Speaking after the match, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said “You don't always get what you deserve. First leg, you get a penalty that isn't a penalty. Today we win, I'm happy with that. I'm happy with some other things, like the performance from Garnacho. Donny, back in the team. I think we made a really good goal with Garnacho. Some good chances as well. But of course, we are disappointed. We didn't score two goals because that is what we needed." On Garnacho’s performance, the Dutchman said “I am really happy and I hope he can keep it going. He was a threat, he scored a goal and he was reliable defending. If he can keep this going, I will be really happy. It was a great finish for his goal."
Also read: AC Milan reach the knockout stages for the first since 2013
