Read Jamie Jackson's match report
That result checks the recent momentum built up by Erik ten Hag, as well as putting Manchester United on the back foot in Group E. Only the group winners go through to the knockout stage automatically, with the second-placed team playing off against a club cashiered from the Champions League. The other game in the group saw Sheriff win 3-0 at Omonia Nicosia. Thanks for reading this MBM on a solemn night at Old Trafford.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheriff | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Real Sociedad | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | Omonia Nicosia | 1 | -3 | 0 |
FULL TIME: Manchester United 0-1 Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad score against, and then beat, Manchester United for the first time in their history. The penalty decision that went in their favour was dubious, but La Real’s overall performance was highly decent. They celebrate a famous victory on an otherwise sombre evening at Old Trafford.
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90 min +2: Casemiro tries to steer a shot into the bottom right, but it’s telegraphed and easily smothered by Remiro.
90 min +1: The first of three added minutes flies by without incident.
90 min: United throw everyone forward. La Real counter. Sorloth romps down the middle with players either side. It’s three on one! Sorloth gets ahead of Fred, then unselfishly rolls towards Cho to his right … but the pass is no good and De Gea can save the day. That should have settled it.
89 min: Ronaldo is brought down in full flight, just to the left of the D. Yellow for Turrientes. Ronaldo takes the free kick himself, and blooters it witlessly into the wall.
88 min: Garnacho swings a leg at the ball from 25 yards. His speculative effort flies harmlessly over. “I think you’re right about ‘clear and obvious’ benefiting the visitors,” writes Kári Tulinius. “In general, VAR in European competitions seems much less trigger happy than VAR in England. I don’t really recall seeing a bad VAR incident in a good long while outside of the Premier League. Why that is, I don’t really know.”
86 min: La Real make a double change, replacing Mendez and Munoz with Sola and Turrientes.
85 min: Fred whistles a cross into the mixer from the left. Ronaldo can’t get an effort on target. United come again. Ronaldo tries to trap another left-wing cross. He goes over, with Zubimendi behind him, but the referee shows no interest in awarding the spot kick Ronaldo claims for. It’s the correct decision.
84 min: Charlie McNeill comes on for his United debut. The young striker replaces Tyrell Malacia.
83 min: Fred is booked for catching Zubimendi on the ankle with his studs. He can have no complaints about that one.
81 min: Martinez rakes a lovely diagonal ball towards Garnacho on the left touchline. He cuts inside and lays off to Fred, who swings a ball in the direction of Sancho, by the far stick. Sancho snatches at his shot and a fine opportunity is spurned.
80 min: Cho curls towards the bottom left. Easy for De Gea. The away fans are in good voice now.
79 min: Pacheco slides through the back of Ronaldo, who felt that. Just a free kick. Could easily have been a yellow.
78 min: The superb Kubo makes way for Ander Barrenetxea.
77 min: Casemiro sends a low curling shot towards the bottom right. It’s on target, but an easy save for Remiro, who palms confidently away from the goal.
75 min: Sorloth barrels down the middle and very nearly releases Kubo into the box with a slide-rule pass. Kubo is denied by a fine sliding interception from Martinez.
74 min: That penalty decision for Sociedad again. Pure speculation, but the clear-and-obvious-error may have benefited the visitors. It was a pretty harsh decision, but you could make a case for it, if you were so disposed, and so the VAR dude may not have felt empowered to overturn it. Even so, you’d see that decision reversed more often than not.
72 min: Kubo crosses from the left yet again. Malacia slices a wild attempted clearance out for a corner. Nothing comes of the resulting set piece. Kubo has been excellent since the restart.
71 min: … so Antony’s last act of the evening is to be clotheslined. He’s replaced by Jadon Sancho, while Elanga makes way for 18-year-old Argentinian winger Alejandro Garnacho.
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70 min: Munoz hangs a horizontal leg across Anthony’s waist, to stop the winger in full flight. It’s an absurd challenge, and could so easily be a red. But it’s just a yellow. Say what you will about this referee, he’s not a homer.
68 min: A bouncing ball drops at the feet of Malacia, who snatches at his shot from the edge of the D. Goal kick. He had time to do a little better.
67 min: Elanga has a whack from just inside the box on the left. He claims his shot hits Elustondo’s hand, but the referee isn’t interested at all. United’s fans are beginning to feel a little aggrieved, though that looked to have come off the Sociedad defender’s chest.
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65 min: The 18-year-old striker Momo Cho comes on for Silva, who departs to more pantomime booing.
64 min: This game has opened out. The increasingly influential Kubo sees a low drive blocked. United then counter through Antony, who wins a corner down the right. The ball’s worked back up the flank to Fernandes, who swings one in from deep. Casemiro meets at the far stick with a downward header that rears up onto the top of the net.
62 min: Turns out Martinez was booked for his role in the penalty too. Insult to injury, given how harsh the decision was.
61 min: That’s Real Sociedad’s first-ever goal against Manchester United, in four and a half matches. Mendez nearly makes it two in three minutes, but his attempted curler towards the top right is blocked.
60 min: Silva goes into the book as a result of coming through the back of Casemiro.
GOAL: Manchester United 0-1 Real Sociedad (Mendez 59 pen)
Mendez slots powerfully into the bottom-right corner. De Gea nearly got there … in fact he might have got something on it … but it was powerfully struck and perfectly placed. La Real take the lead.
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58 min: The penalty stands! That seems a bit harsh, not least because the shot hit Martinez’s body first, and his arm wasn’t exactly miles away from his torso. But VAR is not for moving.
Penalty for Real Sociedad
57 min: The corner’s worked to Silva, who attempts to send a curler into the top-left corner. His shot hits Martinez on the hip, then up onto his arm. The referee points to the spot, then books Fernandes for complaining. But VAR will check …
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56 min: Kubo whips another magical cross in from the left. Sorloth prepares to slam a sidefoot home from six yards, but Martinez sticks a leg out to save a certain goal. Corner. From which …
55 min: The home fans partake in a bit of anti-Glazer chanting.
54 min: Space for Kubo out on the Sociedad left. He curls a fine cross into the box for Sorloth, who beats Martinez all ends up only to power a header over the bar. That was a great opportunity, ten yards out.
52 min: A game of pinball breaks out in midfield.
50 min: Pacheco is down, winded after clattering into Ronaldo. An accident, nothing more, and he’s good to go again once he gets his breath back.
48 min: Malacia slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Elanga, who turns and cushions a pass infield for Ronaldo. He takes a touch then sends a screamer over the crossbar from 25 yards. The keeper was probably behind that, had it been on target, but his handling hasn’t been all that, so you never know.
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46 min: A very uncertain start to the second half by Sociedad. Zubimendi slices high into the air, forcing Remiro to punch clear with great uncertainty. Then Fernandes crosses from the right. Ronaldo has to score, six yards out, but flashes his header wide left.
United get the second half underway. They’ve made two changes at the break: Christian Eriksen and Diogo Dalot make way for Bruno Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez. Meanwhile Sociedad have swapped Umar Sadiq for erstwhile Crystal Palace striker Alexander Sorloth.
HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Real Sociedad
The whistle goes at the end of an unsurprisingly low-key first half.
44 min: Antony latches onto a loose pass and feeds Elanga, who fails to release Ronaldo with an easy pass down the inside-right. Ronaldo shows a smidgen of frustration.
42 min: Ronaldo scampers after a long pass down the right and hooks into the mixer, but the chase wasn’t worth it. There’s nobody up with him, and La Real’s captain Elustondo clears up with ease.
40 min: Antony has been quiet so far, but now he escapes from a tight spot near the right-hand corner flag by knocks the ball around Munoz and haring into the box after it. But Merino comes across and blooters a clearance straight into him. The ball ricochets towards Remiro, who doesn’t drop this one.
39 min: Merino meets the corner, coming in from the left, at the near post. He attempts to flick into the six-yard box, but falls over his own feet, allowing the hosts to clear.
38 min: Sadiq intercepts a loose pass and drives towards the United box down the left. He’s about to shoot when Casemiro arrives to block out for a corner.
36 min: Dalot curls in from the right. Ronaldo rises and hangs in the air. He powers a header towards the top right. Remiro gets a hand to it, but can’t stop it hitting the underside of the bar and flying into the net. What a header! Unfortunately, he was clearly offside when the cross came in, and the flag goes up accordingly.
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34 min: Ronaldo channels his salad days by dribbling at pace down the inside left. He nearly busts his way through a thicket of players, but has to settle for a corner, from which nothing comes.
32 min: The game falls a little flat again. Nobody could find fault.
30 min: Fred shoots from distance. His effort pings off the back of Elanga and away from danger.
29 min: United ping it around the middle awhile. The sort of confident possession that didn’t look within their wheelhouse a month ago. Erik ten Hag has got to work quickly.
27 min: A poor Lindelof headed clearance drops to Silva, whose first-time cushioned pass drops to Mendez on the penalty spot. He’s got to hit the target at least, but sends his instant shot wide left. That was a glorious opportunity for La Real to take the lead.
25 min: Fred spins and finds Eriksen in space down the inside-left channel. He dinks a cute reverse pass towards Ronaldo, on the penalty spot. Ronaldo takes a touch only for the ball to rear up, allowing Pacheco to nip in and head out for a corner. Nothing comes of that set piece either.
23 min: Elanga turns on the jets and swans past Gorosabel as though the Sociedad right-back wasn’t there. He reaches the byline and cuts back for Fred, who is in a pocket of space in the box but clips his shot off the nearest defender. Just a corner, and nothing comes from that.
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21 min: A few pantomime boos as Silva picks up possession. Otherwise, it’s become pretty subdued again, understandably so. An awful lot of emotional energy will be spent during the next couple of weeks.
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19 min: Munoz and Silva attempt to open up United with a one-two down the inside-left channel. Silva’s return pass is uncharacteristically clunky, and Dalot can intercept and clear.
17 min: Eriksen glides down the inside-right channel and loops a pass towards Ronaldo on the penalty spot. Ronaldo winds his neck back to power a header goalwards, but the cross is just a little bit too high. United beginning to get a few things together.
16 min: A fine pass by Dalot from the right-back position to set Ronaldo scampering, mind.
14 min: A long ball down the middle nearly releases Ronaldo. The younger version would have zipped clear and shot, but this veteran one allows Gorosabel to get back into position and nick the ball away. Turns out the flag went up for offside anyway.
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13 min: Remiro dallies with the ball at his feet, hoping to draw United forward before picking a pass further upfield. He then flays it straight out of play for a throw.
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11 min: Merino curls a cross into the United box from a deep position on the left. Just too strong for Sadiq, who was in a bit of space just inside the area on the right.
9 min: Silva slides in late on Fred. Some pernickety referees would flash yellow, but there didn’t seem to be any malice in the tackle, and – quite rightly – it’s no more than a free kick.
8 min: Malacia picks up a loose ball and moves down the inside-left channel. He feeds Fred infield, and keeps going in the hope of receiving a return pass. But Fred’s dink forward flies out for a goal kick.
6 min: Manchester was home to David Silva for ten years. He’s enjoying his return to the city during these early exchanges, probing down both flanks. Sociedad are seeing their fair share of the ball.
4 min: Fred floats a ball into the Sociedad box. Remiro should claim, but drops the ball under absolutely no pressure whatsoever. He gets away with it as Gorosabel tidies up.
2 min: Both sets of fans get a little atmosphere going with a smattering of song. Otherwise, a tentative start.
Sociedad, whose fans had raised their scarves in a show of respect, kick off. There’s a strange, subdued, surreal atmosphere, as you’d expect in the circumstances.
A minute of silence in memory of Queen Elizabeth II. A poignant moment, perfectly observed by all in Old Trafford.
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The teams take to the pitch. Manchester United wear red shirts and white shorts, while Real Sociedad sport second-choice black. Both teams wear black armbands in memory of Queen Elizabeth II.
A lovely stat here. Thanks to our man Daniel Harris for sourcing this tweet.
Today at Old Trafford,Real and United will play with 2 amazing records
— Atotxa.org (@atotxaorg) September 8, 2022
United has been playing 4,153 games(85 years) in a row with at least 1 own youth player in the squad
La Real has been playing 2,745 games(65 years)in a row with at least 1 own youth player in its starting 11 pic.twitter.com/3G9qmcvFQU
United have never lost to Real Sociedad. They were paired for the first time in the 2013-14 Champions League groups, United winning their home tie 1-0 thanks to an early Inigo Martinez own goal, then drawing 0-0 in San Sebastián. They were again drawn together in the Round of 32 of the 2020/21 Europa League, United winning 4-0 in Turin – the tie had been moved to a neutral venue as a result of Spanish Covid restrictions – with Bruno Fernandes scoring twice, Marcus Rashford and Dan James getting the others. The return leg at Old Trafford was another goalless draw.
1963: Queen Elizabeth II presents the FA Cup to Noel Cantwell. Manchester United had beaten Leicester City 3-1 in the Wembley final.
As expected, Manchester United hand a full debut to Casemiro. Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire both return to the starting line-up, as Erik ten Hag makes six changes to the starting XI named against Arsenal last weekend. Victor Lindelof, Fred and Antony Elanga also come in to face a Real Sociedad side including former Manchester City star David Silva.
The teams
Manchester United: de Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia, Eriksen, Casemiro, Fred, Antony, Ronaldo, Elanga.
Subs: Martinez, Bruno Fernandes, Varane, Heaton, Sancho, Wan-Bissaka, Dubravka, McTominay, Garnacho.
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Gorosabel, Elustondo, Pacheco, Munoz, Zubimendi, Mendez, Merino, Silva, Sadiq, Kubo.
Subs: Sola, Illarramendi, Zubeldia, Barrenetxea, Cho, Zubiaurre, Guevara, Navarro, Sorloth, Turrientes, Gonzalez, Karrikaburu.
Referee: Marco Di Bello (Italy).
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The passing of Queen Elizabeth II was announced by Buckingham Palace at 6.30pm this evening. Manchester United have made the following statement regarding tonight’s match.
Following direction from the FA and Uefa, tonight’s Uefa Europa League fixture against Real Sociedad will take place as planned at Old Trafford.
A minute’s silence will be held before kick-off which will allow the teams, match officials and everyone in attendance to pay their respects to Her Majesty, The Queen. Both teams will wear black armbands and the flags at Old Trafford will fly at half-mast as a sign of our utmost respect.
The club has issued a statement regarding this evening's game at Old Trafford, following the death of Her Royal Highness The Queen Elizabeth II.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 8, 2022
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Preamble
Yes, yes, Manchester United would rather be in the Champions League. But whenever they contest the Europa League, they take it seriously. The last two times they’ve started at the group stage, they’ve either gone on to win the competition (2017) or make it to the semis (2020). The last time they were parachuted into the competition from the Champions League, they reached the final (2021). If recent history is anything to go by, they’ll embark on another deep run this time round.
Real Sociedad are first up. They’ve not started their La Liga campaign particuarly well – just two wins in their first four, plus a home 4-1 spanking by Barcelona – and they’ve recently lost their star striker Alexander Isak to Newcastle. But manager Imanol Alguacil is in bullish mood nonetheless, stating that “for me, there is only one big club, which is ours!” He’s promised to go all out for the win tonight, stating “I would not like to draw being shut inside the box. I would prefer to lose and with a team that goes for it. There is no other way. We have to be brave all of the time!”
Erik ten Hag is likely to name a much-changed side from the 3-1 win over Arsenal. Casemiro could make his full debut, while newly styled bit-part players Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire may also start. Another run to the business end of the Europa League starts here? Kick off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
