Impact substitutes: Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both scored off the bench against Omonia in Cyprus on Thursday
(Picture: REUTERS)Substitutes Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial came to the rescue as Manchester United withstood late drama to avoid a major Europa League upset against Omonia.
Despite dominating most of a one-sided first half in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia and creating numerous chances, the visitors - seeking to bounce back swiftly from their 6-3 Manchester derby thrashing by City at the Etihad on Sunday - trailed at the break after a terrific Bruno-led counter-attack was finished off well by Iranian striker Karim Ansarifard.
United boss Erik ten Hag introduced Rashford - along with Luke Shaw - at half-time and that change paid off within seven minutes as the England striker curled into the bottom corner after a wonderful diagonal Bruno Fernandes pass and crucial Cristiano Ronaldo run that diverted the defender’s attention.
The fit-again Martial later also scored with his first involvement off the bench, firing in at the front post after a lovely Rashford flick to turn Lisandro Martinez’s pass into his path. It follows his two second-half goals against City as the Frenchman further underlined his importance to United’s cause when healthy.
Ronaldo - brought into the starting XI along with Casemiro and Victor Lindelof, with Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane both missing out through injury - struck the post from close range as he laboured in search of his 700th career club goal on an increasingly rare start for United, while Omonia’s Bruno wasted a golden chance to equalise with a tame lob that was easily saved by David De Gea.
Rashford tapped home Ronaldo’s strike at the back post to seemingly put the game beyond reach late on, only for Nikolas Panayiotou to punish some woeful defending at the other end just a minute later to give Neil Lennon’s plucky Omonia hope and set up a grandstand finish.
United eventually escaped with a hard-earned three points to leave them second in Group E, behind Real Sociedad. Omonia remain pointless and bottom of the table before heading to Old Trafford for the return fixture next Thursday.
