Manchester United v Real Sociedad Live Commentary & Result, 25/02/2021, UEFA Europa League

That brings an end to our coverage of the Europa League round of 32 second-leg clash between Manchester United and Real Sociedad at Old Trafford. Thank you very much for joining us. Goodbye!

After United find out their Europa League last-16 opponents on February 26th, they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in their next Premier league outing. Sociedad, on the other hand, play Real Madrid in La Liga on their return to domestic action.

After a competitive contest, Manchester United progress into the Europa League last-16 following a 4-0 aggregate win over Real Sociedad. Although there were no goals on the night at Old Trafford, Sociedad spurned a clear-cut opportunity to take an early lead from the spot, with Oyarzabal firing the penalty wide of the goal. Fernandes and James came close to breaking the deadlock either side of the half-hour mark for the hosts, before VAR denied Tuanzebe his first Red Devils goal in the second half.

90' + 4' FULL TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 0-0 REAL SOCIEDAD (4-0 ON AGGREGATE)

90' + 2' Diallo attempts to spin away from Munoz on the halfway line, but is being dragged back by the full-back. United are awarded another free-kick.

90' There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.

89' Barrenetxea goes in a little late on Rashford and the Red Devils win a free-kick midway inside their own half.

87' Matic gets away from his man in an advanced position down the right flank, but his low cross just evades Martial and Sagnan hooks it to safety.

85' SAVE! A long, sweeping pass over the top sets Merquelanz away down the right flank. The winger opts to cut inside onto his left foot, but his effort from the edge of the area is easily claimed in the middle of the goal by Henderson.

84' Martial comes deep to collect the ball, although he is impeded from behind by Zubeldia on the halfway line. The hosts win a free-kick.

82' Tuanzebe concedes a corner to the left. Merquelanz goes over to take the set-piece, but his out-swinging delivery fails to beat the first man.

80' After coming on, Shoretire (17y 23d) becomes the youngest ever player to make an appearance for Manchester United in European competition.

78' The Red Devils are now allowing Sociedad to have plenty of the ball as we enter the closing stages of this match.

S. Shoretire

M. Greenwood

76' Solskjaer now makes his final substitution, replacing Rashford with Shoretire. There are 14 minutes of normal time left to play.

74' Following a foul from Lindelof, La Reales work a quick free-kick routine down the right. Barrenetxea creates some space before seeing his cross nodded behind by Lindelof. United initially fail to clear the resulting set-piece and Guridi lashes a first-time effort wide from the edge of the box.

Jon Guridi

Guevara

72' The away side make their fifth change, with Guevara making way for Guridi. It remains 0-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate.

71' Williams makes a dangerous overlapping run down the right flank, although he just cannot quite get on the end on Rashford’s in-swinging cross from the left.

69' Merino spots the run of Portu to his right and tries to set the winger away in behind. However, his pass is overhit and runs out for a goal-kick.

67' NOT FAR AWAY! Martial sets himself and goes for goal from distance, and his right-footed shot just sails over the bar.

Martín Merquelanz

A. Januzaj

66' Alguacil now opts to make his fourth alteration of the match, bringing on Merquelanz for Januzaj.

V. Lindelöf

Yellow Card

65' Lindelof picks up a yellow card for catching Bautista in the face with his knee during that earlier corner.

64' NO GOAL! United thought that they had taken the lead through Tuanzebe’s header following Telles’ corner from the left, but, after consulting VAR, the goal is ruled out for a foul from Lindelof on Bautista inside the penalty area in the build-up.

61' Rashford goes down midway inside the Sociedad half under pressure from Guevara and appeals for a free-kick, but the referee waves play on.

A. Diallo

D. James

59' United are forced into making their fourth change of the match, as Diallo comes on to replace the injured James.

58' There is going to be a brief stoppage in play as James is down and in need of treatment. Diallo is being readied.

56' SMART PLAY! After some patient build-up play down the right, Greenwood darts inside of Guevara and looks to fire the ball into the bottom-right corner from an acute angle. However, he instead finds the side netting.

54' Rashford is the first Premier League player to feature in 40 matches in all competitions this season.

52' CHANCE! Greenwood picks the ball up from Martial just outside of the away side’s box, cuts onto his right foot, and forces a smart save from Remiro at the far post.

50' OFF THE BAR! The resulting free-kick is swung into the hosts’ penalty area by Januzaj, and, after United fail to clear, Barrenetxea nods it across the box for Sagnan, who strikes the bar with a powerful header from the centre of the box.

B. Williams

Yellow Card

49' Williams catches Portu with an elbow when competing for an aerial ball and picks up a yellow card.

48' JUST WIDE! Rashford steps up to take the set-piece, and his well-struck shot just fizzes wide of the far post. That was not far away.

47' Sagnan brings down Martial a few yards outside of the visitors’ penalty area, and the hosts have a free-kick in a dangerous central area.

46' We are back underway! Visser, the referee, blows his whistle and Sociedad get the second half underway.

Portu

A. Isak

46' Portu also comes onto the field, replacing Isak.

Jon Bautista

Gorosabel

46' Gorosabel makes way for Bautista.

Barrenetxea

Mikel Oyarzabal

46' The visitors also turn to their substitutes ahead of the second half. Barrenetxea enters the fray in place of Oyarzabal.

A. Tuanzebe

Fred

46' It is a triple change for United at the break. Tuanzebe comes on for Fred.

M. Rashford

Bruno Fernandes

46' Rashford also replaces Fernandes at half-time.

B. Williams

A. Wan-Bissaka

46' Solskjaer opts to freshen things up ahead of the second half, bringing on Williams for Wan-Bissaka.

Solskjaer will be relatively pleased by his side’s first-half display. Aside from the penalty, the Red Devils have looked solid at the back, limiting Sociedad to very few chances. Fernandes grew into the game as the half went on, with the away team struggling to pick him up as he continually drifted into pockets of space. La Reales, on the other hand, need an early goal if they hope to overturn the existing four-goal deficit in the second half. Oyarzabal has been the brightest spark for the visitors, and he will need to step up after the break if Alguacil’s team are to launch a comeback.

After an evenly-matched first half, there’s nothing to separate Manchester United and Real Sociedad at the break. On 13 minutes, the visitors had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock and pull a goal back from the spot after James impeded Gorosabel, but Oyarzabal steered the penalty wide of the top-left corner. Fernandes then went close for the hosts with an audacious chip that struck the bar, before James had a close-range header kept out by Remiro.

45' + 1' HALF TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 0-0 REAL SOCIEDAD

44' Telles this time goes down following a tackle from Januzaj and United get another free-kick deep in their own half.

42' Telles fires a cross in from the left-hand side of the field aiming for Greenwood, but Zubeldia rises well to nod the delivery away from danger.

Fred

Yellow Card

40' Januzaj looks to launch a quick counter but is cynically brought down by Fred, who picks up the first yellow card of the match. He can have no complains with that decision.

39' Fred cleverly lets the ball run beyond him before being fouled from behind by Zubimendi in the centre of the park. The referee is well placed to award a free-kick.

37' Following a corner from the left, Lindelof concedes a free-kick after climbing over the back of Sagnan at the far post.

35' GREAT SAVE! Fernandes drops into a yard in space just outside of the visitors’ penalty area and swings an inviting cross into the box. James gets ahead of his man, but steers his close-range header straight at Remiro.

33' Oyarzabal attempts to win possession high up the field, but clips Telles in the process. The referee awards a free-kick to the hosts.

31' James is caught from behind by Gorosabel and United win a free-kick in their own defensive third.

30' Since the start of February 2020, Fernandes has hit the woodwork more times in all competitions than any other Premier League player (11).

28' Wan-Bissaka goes down under pressure from Oyarzabal, and United win a free-kick in an advanced position down the right flank. Telles takes it, but the set-piece fails to beat the first man.

26' Fernandes is beginning to pull the strings now. This time he looks to set Martial in behind, but the Frenchman’s first touch sends the ball over the line for a goal-kick.

24' OFF THE BAR! Greenwood plays Fred in behind Sociedad’s defensive line, and the Brazilian returns the ball to the captain after skipping past the onrushing Remiro. Rather audaciously, the Portuguese international looks to chip his effort into the top-left corner, although it cannons out off the bar.

22' GOOD SHOT! Telles picks out Martial just inside the visitors’ box, and he spins away from his marker before drawing a smart save from Remiro at his near post.

21' James drives down the left and picks out Fernandes on the edge of the box, and his right-footed effort deflects behind for a corner off Zubeldia. The hosts work it short before eventually crossing the ball in, but Lindelof’s header back across goal is hooked to safety.

19' Januzaj cuts inside and onto his left foot before steering an inviting cross into the heart of the hosts’ penalty area. Merino peels away from his marker but misses the Belgian’s delivery.

17' United are unbeaten in 14 Europa League matches at Old Trafford (W12 D2). They last lost 3-2 to Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic Bilbao in 2011-12.

15' La Reales continue to apply the pressure as they seek a breakthrough. After finding a yard of space, Guevera fires a tame effort from the centre of the box over the bar.

Mikel Oyarzabal

Penalty Miss

13' MISSED PENALTY! Oyarzabal opts for placement, but sends his left-footed spot-kick wide of the top-left corner. Henderson was planted in the middle of the goal.

12' PENALTY! James gets the wrong side of Gorosabel and brings the full-back down inside the box after some clever play by the away side down the right wing. The referee shows no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Oyarzabal will take it...

11' CHANCE! Bailly launches a well-weighted pass beyond the Sociedad defence for Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder times his run well, latches onto the ball and opts for a first-time shot, which Remiro saves well at his near post.

10' Solskjaer’s team have settled into their rhythm now and are neatly working the ball around on the halfway line as they look to create space from deep.

8' Greenwood looks to dribble his way out of a dangerous area deep inside the United half and is fouled by Oyarzabal. Free-kick to the home side.

6' Oyarzabal once again looks to drive down the left-hand side of the field, but Greenwood gets back to block the Spaniard’s cross out for a throw-in.

4' Merino and Oyarzabal attempt a neat one-two down the left flank and win a corner off Fred. The resulting set-piece is nodded to safety.

2' The hosts have started the game brightly. Martial gets played in down the left side of the visitors’ penalty area by Fernandes, before cutting onto his right foot and firing a shot straight at Zubeldia.

1' Kick off! The referee, Lawrence Visser, blows his whistle and United get the game underway.

The teams are out, and kick-off will soon be upon us here at Old Trafford.

Manchester United have won just one of their last nine home matches against Spanish opponents (D4 L4), failing to score in their last two. That one win came against Sociedad in the UEFA Champions League group stages in 2013-14.

Heading into this match, Ole Gunner Solskjaer’s team are unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions. In that time, the Red Devils have scored 21 goals and kept four clean sheets. Moreover, the last time that United conceded four or more goals at home came back in October against Tottenham in the Premier League. The visitors, on the other hand, have won only once in their previous six Europa League fixtures. Against their hosts, Sociedad remain winless in their three matches with Manchester United across all competitions.

The home side make four changes from the team that recently beat Newcastle in the Premier League. In come Henderson, Bailly, Telles and Greenwood for De Gea, Maguire, Shaw and Rashford, each of whom start from the bench. Imanol Alguacil, on the other hand, makes five alterations for this clash. Rubin Le Normand, Monreal, Asier Illarramendi, David Silva, and Portu are replaced by Sagnan, Munoz, Zubimendi, Guevara and Januzaj.

REAL SOCIEDAD SUBS: Unai Marrero, Unai Ruiz Zeberio, Urko Gonzalez, Nacho Monreal, Jon Guridi, Cristian Portu, Ander Barrenetxea, Martin Merquelanz, Roberto Lopez, Jon Bautista.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS: Nathan Bishop, Lee Grant, David de Gea, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Ethan Galbraith, Amad Diallo, Shola Shoretire, Marcus Rashford.

REAL SOCIEDAD (4-3-3): Alejandro Remiro; Andoni Gorosabel, Igor Zubeldia, Modibo Sagnan, Aihen Munoz; Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Ander Guevara; Adnan Januzaj, Mikel Oyarzabal, Alexander Isak.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Dean Henderson; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Alex Telles; Nemanja Matic, Fred; Mason Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes, Daniel James; Anthony Martial.

Following their first-leg triumph over Sociedad, United defeated Newcastle 3-1 on their return to Premier League action. La Reales, meanwhile, beat Alaves 4-0 in their previous La Liga outing.

Hello and welcome to live match coverage of the round of 32 second-leg clash between Manchester United and Real Sociedad at Old Trafford.

Manchester United v Real Sociedad Live Commentary, 25/02/2021

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