As disappointing as it was for Manchester United to miss out on top spot in their Europa League group in Spain on Thursday evening, victory against Real Sociedad did keep their momentum flowing.
Youngster Alejandro Garnacho, making just his second senior start for the club, scored the only goal of the game at the Reale Arena to stretch United's unbeaten run in all competitions to nine matches, meaning they have not lost since their 6-3 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City at the start of October. Their recovery since that humbling has certainly been impressive.
Furthermore, the narrow win over Sociedad, which means United must now face the lottery of a Europa League play-off showdown in February to try and reach the last-16 of the competition, stretched their winning run to three games. Although it was a far from vintage and pleasing-on-the-eye performance, it was enough to record a third successive win accompanied by a clean sheet, nonetheless.
