Sid Lowe was in San Sebastian, and his report has landed. While he makes his way back to his penthouse suite at the Hotel Maria Cristina, let me thank you for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Erik ten Hag gives his verdict to BT Sport. “You do not always get what you deserve. That’s always football. The first leg, you get a penalty that isn’t a penalty. Today we win. So I’m happy with that. Some other things like the performance from Garnacho, Donny back in the team, we made a really good goal. But of course we are disappointed because we didn’t score the two goals we need. Antony was not available, Anthony Martial was not available, Jadon Sancho was not available, so it’s thin, and I am really happy with Garnacho’s performance. He was a threat, he scored a goal, he was reliable in defending, so I hope he can keep this going. It was a great attack, Bruno, Ronny and a great finish, it was really enjoyable. [After the second-half changes] we were too rushed, too erratic, we didn’t work good on the ball any more, we needed balls in the box but that process didn’t work well. We had to take risks, but we kept a clean sheet. Of course we are disappointed, we want always to be number one, but we have some positives to take from San Sebastian.”
Bruno Fernandes speaks to BT, looking on the bright side, while giving young Alejandro Garnacho a metaphorical clip around the lug. “Obviously our goal was winning the game by two goals. We did a great game, we tried everything. At the end, we took more risks, but we won the game, a great win against a tough opponent. We’re not top of the group, but it’s always a win. We knew we had to take more risks, and we did that. We knew they would get more chances. We didn’t conceded, it’s another clean sheet, which is very important for us. It’s another win, we keep without losing games, and that is important for the confidence of the team. Alejandro Garnacho was good, but he knows we expect a lot from him. On the [pre-season] tour, he didn’t have the best attitude and that’s why he didn’t get his chance until now, but he is training better with a different attitude and is deserving his chances. Now we have to play [one of the Champions League drop-outs] but that’s no problem for us. If we want to win the competition we have to fight the good teams in any moment. Sooner or later, we’ll be ready for that.”
Aside from the oddness of winning a game yet feeling like they’ve lost it, that was a weird one for Manchester United. They played well for the majority of the first half, and Alejandro Garnacho finished off a cracking move in style. But that was their only attempt on target in the entire match. They didn’t bother Alejandro Remiro in the Sociedad goal at all during the second period, when another goal was crucial … and Erik ten Hag’s tweaks as time ran out (hooking Garracho, Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof, redeploying Casemiro, sending Harry Maguire up front) will no doubt be discussed in animated style down the line. Still, they’re playing European football in the spring, and you never know, a glamour tie against one of the big names in the sport could be the very thing to re-energise their campaign after tonight’s disappointment. You never know, huh?
Sherriff Tiraspol have won the other match in Group E, beating Omonia Nicosia 1-0. So this is how it ends. Sociedad make it through to the last 16. United go into the draw for the knockout play-offs, and will play one of Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona, Sporting, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla or Juventus. A headache Erik ten Hag could do without.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Sociedad | 6 | 8 | 15 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 6 | 7 | 15 |
| 3 | Sheriff | 6 | -6 | 6 |
| 4 | Omonia Nicosia | 6 | -9 | 0 |
FULL TIME: Real Sociedad 0-1 Manchester United
Sociedad hang on, limiting the damage to a single-goal defeat. They top Group E, going straight through to the last 16. United win on the night, but it’s a play-off against a Champions League drop-out for them.
90 min +5: Shaw blooters a Hail Mary upfield. Fernandes shuttles it further towards the mixer … but out for another goal kick. Casemiro and Maguire look pained.
90 min +4: A long ball into the Sociedad box pings off a home head and out for a corner. United over-elaborate, and the ball soon sails into Remiro’s arms.
90 min +3: For the first time this evening, Sociedad sit back with a view to soaking up. Shaw lumps forward. Merino heads clear. This is as dangerous as United have looked for half an hour!
90 min +2: Dalot launches long for Maguire. Sociedad clear. Anoeta is bouncing … but the tension is palpable.
90 min +1: The first of five added minutes flies by from United’s perspective.
90 min: An absurd pinball game in the Sociedad box! Ronaldo flicks on for Casemiro, who is free on the penalty spot! His shot is blocked. McTominay tries to force home. Casemiro does again. Finally the ball squirts away to the left, and the flag goes up – correctly – for an offside on Casemiro in the first instance. What a rumble!
Updated
89 min: Rashford latches onto a long ball down the left. His presence causes a few flutters in the home defence. The ball’s looped long for Maguire, who can’t get an effort goalwards at the far post.
87 min: … but the ball’s soon coming back towards the United box, and Dalot is booked for swinging his elbow back into Magunacelaya’s startled grid. I don’t think that was deliberate … but it was one of those on the subjective borderline, and referees have sent players packing for much less.
86 min: Zubimendi and Navarro combine down the right and win a corner. Navarro to take. No time-wasting short corners here … but is that the right decision for the hosts to make, because nothing comes of the corner, and United get the ball back in short order.
85 min: Martinez knocks the newly arrived Magunacelaya to the floor. Never any danger of a second yellow, but it’s an opportunity for the hosts to run down the clock, and it’s one they grab with both hands.
83 min: Both teams make two changes. Magunacelaya and Zubeldia come on for Sorloth and Mendez, while United replace Eriksen and Garnacho with Fred and Maguire … who has been sent up front! The total football of the Ajax school, right here.
81 min: Eriksen tries to find Casemiro on the edge of the Sociedad box with a raking long pass. Casemiro nearly meets the ball with an extended leg, but Remiro comes to the edge of his box to claim.
79 min: Sorloth comes down the left again, this time dragging a low shot across De Gea and out on the right. United, who need another goal to win the group, are beginning to look ragged at the back as they gamble and leave gaps.
78 min: Sorloth barrels down the inside-left channel and, surrounded by neon shirts, has a dig from distance. Over the bar it goes. From the resulting goal kick, Dalot nearly plays his team into trouble with a poor pass out. Then Navarro has a couple of shots in short order from a tight angle on the right. The hosts have clearly decided that attack is the best form of defence. No sitting back and hanging on for the 0-1 loss that’d keep them top.
76 min: Ronaldo clatters into the back of Rico. The crowd bay for a second yellow, but the referee is about the only person in Anoeta remaining calm. Just a free kick.
75 min: Real play out from the back with confidence. United’s press not quite working at the moment. The crowd enjoyed all the flicks and feints.
73 min: Fernandez is booked for taking his sweet time to make way for his replacement Guevara. Quite a few emotions running high now.
71 min: More early panto-season booing as Ronaldo is shown the yellow card for jumping into the back of Merino. Elbow on neck? It’s a bit harsh. Ronaldo jumps up and down theatrically with his arms glued to his side, as though to ask what he could possibly have done. But a booking it is.
70 min: Fernandez is soon back up and about, swivelling towards a long throw-in from the left, but snatching at the ball and sending it harmlessly off target.
69 min: Fernandez meets a Sociedad free kick swung into the mixer from the left. He heads over harmlessly, and takes a whack in the ribs as well. Accidental, but play needs to be stopped.
67 min: Shaw slips under a long ball and lets Navarro skitter off towards the United box. It’s three on one! But Navarro’s pass wide left for Sorloth is no good, pushing the striker away from the danger zone. Shaw gets away with one there.
66 min: Mendez talks on Shaw down the right and wins, but ruins all of his good work with another dismal ball sent sailing into the stand behind.
64 min: Now Mendez goes into the book for hauling Shaw back by the shoulder, then kicking the ball away in frustration. The home crowd didn’t like that at all, and all of a sudden this game has a little edge to it.
62 min: Up gets Martinez. Off goes the physio. Into the book goes Martinez. Mendez, taking the resulting free kick out on the right, hoofs straight out for a goal kick. Martinez will miss the next match United play in Europe.
Updated
61 min: Martinez comes through the back of Mendez, and it looks like he’ll go into the book. Not yet, though, because he’s taken a whack on the jaw as the momentum took him into his opponent. On comes the physio.
60 min: Rashford is immediately in the thick of it, nearly tearing clear down the left and winning a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece, but that’s an early statement of intent.
59 min: Meanwhile the hosts make a double change too. Elustondo and Navarro come on for Gorosabel and Marin.
58 min: United make a double change, sending on McTominay and Rashford for Lindelof and Van de Beek. For now, it looks as though Casemiro will drop back into defence alongside Martinez.
57 min: Marin crosses from the right. Casemiro stops Fernandez connecting at the far stick, but can’t clear. The ball’s worked wide right again, from where Gorosabel sends in another cross. This one’s cleared with more purpose.
55 min: Shaw crosses from the left but can’t find Fernandes at the far stick. Real try to counter through Sorloth, but it’s all too ponderous and United shuttle back into defensive position.
54 min: Merino wedges a clever ball down the middle in the hope of finding Mendez, but De Gea reads the danger well and is positioned to pluck it out of the sky.
53 min: Van de Beek is found by Eriksen’s cute slide down the inside-right channel. He enters the box and flays wildly off target. The flag goes up for offside anyway.
51 min: Zubimendi catches Casemiro on the ankle with a couple of studs. The home fans think Casemiro has bought the free kick, and holler accordingly. Panto season soon!
49 min: United only half clear the corner, allowing Mendez to drive into the box from the left. His low cross is headed behind by Casemiro for another corner. From that second one, Zubimendi gets a shot all wrong, and the ball balloons out for a goal kick.
48 min: Sociedad spark into life first. Nico swings one in from the left. Sorloth connects with a header, six yards out, but the ball deflects off the busy Martinez and out for a corner. That’s some fine last-ditch defending.
47 min: A nondescript start to the second half.
Sociedad get the second half underway. Mancunians made to feel at home in the rain. No changes.
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HALF TIME: Real Sociedad 0-1 Manchester United
Shaw, Van de Beek and Garnacho cause a few heart flutters in the Sociedad box, but the hosts clear, and that’s it for the first half. A most acceptable state of affairs for Manchester United, who still need another goal if they’re to finish top of Group E and avoid the knockout play-off stage, but look eminently capable of scoring it. Big half coming up in terms of decluttering their spring diary.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Sociedad | 6 | 8 | 15 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 6 | 7 | 15 |
| 3 | Sheriff | 6 | -7 | 4 |
| 4 | Omonia Nicosia | 6 | -8 | 1 |
Updated
45 min +2: Marin busies himself on the edge of the United box, but the ball doesn’t fall for him. He’s been Sociedad’s best player in this first half by some distance. Not bad for a 19-year-old who has only just broken into the first team.
45 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner, though the home fans make noise for a supposed handball by Shaw. Nope! There will be three added minutes.
44 min: Having nearly gone 0-2 up, United are almost immediately pegged back! Gorosabel, haring down the inside right, creams a shot towards the bottom left. De Gea parries at full stretch. The ball breaks left to Marin, who tries to dink home from a tight angle. The shot deflects off the top of De Gea’s noggin and out for a corner. What a double save!
Updated
42 min: Ronaldo misses a huge chance! Martinez creams a long pass down the middle. Pacheco tries to clear but miskicks, the ball clanking off Ronaldo, who is suddenly free! He tries to dink over Remiro, on the edge of his box … but gets too much on the chip, which settles on the top of the net. Ronaldo looks over for a blush-sparing offside flag that doesn’t spring up.
Updated
41 min: … so having said that, Real break up play and Marin dribbles towards the United box down the middle. But he can’t quite get the ball out from under his feet, and the eventual shot dribbles harmlessly into the arms of De Gea.
40 min: United stroke it around calmly. They’ve established themselves as the bosses of this game – and have quietened the crowd as a result.
38 min: To be fair to Sociedad, Remiro hasn’t had much to do either, other than pick the ball from his net. There’s only been one effort on target in the entire match, and that was the goal.
36 min: Ronaldo and Garnacho combine down the left before sending Shaw scampering towards the byline. Shaw can’t find Van de Beek in the middle with his cross. Sociedad clear. United look more likely to get the second they need than Real do to equalise.
Updated
34 min: Dalot crosses from the right. A dangerous one that nobody in Stabilo Boss green has gambled on.
34 min: Gorosabel slips a ball into the United box from the right. For a second, Sorloth is in a large pocket of space, but he over-estimates the amount of time he’s been afforded, and instead of spinning and shooting, albeit from a tight angle, hesitates. Martinez doesn’t need asking twice, and nicks the ball away to clear.
32 min: Marin has a corner-flag-bothering whack from the best part of 30 yards. De Gea still hasn’t been pressed into action.
31 min: United look thoroughly in control at the moment. De Gea hasn’t had any serious work to do.
29 min: Lindelof beats Sorloth in an aerial challenge just inside the United box. Sociedad want a penalty for the full-blooded barge, but they’re not getting one, and are doubly incensed when Rico is immediately penalised for a tackle on Casemiro. It’s all going very well for United right now.
28 min: Merino, having conducted a full inventory, is once again good to go. United attack through Garnacho again, the young man cutting in from the left, leaning back, and larruping a shot over the bar.
26 min: Poor Merino won’t be thinking about his shoulder any more. He’s just taken a ball full in the trousers. Ooyah, oof, right in the pintxos! A difficult couple of minutes for the Sociedad captain.
24 min: That looked in the first instance like a dislocated shoulder, such was the dramatic nature of the slip and the subsequent screams of pain. But happily it appears to have been just a sore whack, and he’s back on soon enough.
23 min: Merino flies into a challenge on Van de Beek, only to slip on the wet turf and fall awkwardly. He looks in some pain, having landed in a heap, all of his weight landing on his shoulder. On comes the doctor.
22 min: Merino has a dig from the edge of the United box. The ball’s deflected out for a corner on the left. Real play it back for Zubimendi, who shovels a directionless pass forward that sails harmlessly out for a goal kick.
20 min: United now need just the one more goal to top Group E and avoid all the big names dropping out of the Champions League. On the touchline, Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil makes his feelings known via the medium of demonstrative tantrum.
18 min: There’s a quick VAR check. Was Fernandes offside when he headed the ball away from Rico? Nope! The goal stands. It’s Garnacho’s first for Manchester United. What a time to score it!
Updated
GOAL! Real Sociedad 0-1 Manchester United (Garnacho 17)
What a goal this is! Fernandes beats Rico to a header out on the United right. The ball sails infield to Ronaldo, who plays a perfectly weighted ball down the inside-left for Garnacho. The young Argentinian, running at full tilt, takes a touch to enter the box, then whistles an unstoppable shot across Remiro and into the top right. Wow!
Updated
15 min: Gorosabel strides down the right and whips in a cross. Sorloth is lurking, waiting to crash a header home, but Martinez is positioned perfectly and smacks a clearing header back upfield instead.
14 min: Garnacho tears down the left, cuts infield, and tries to find Ronaldo on the other flank. A poor pass whistles out for a goal kick, and he’d have surely been better shooting, but this young winger generates palpable excitement whenever he gets on the ball. A bundle of energy and smooth skill.
12 min: Merino tries to release Rico down the inside-left channel but there’s a little bit too much juice on the pass. Goal kick. It’s been an open game so far, even if it’s not quite yet sparked into life.
11 min: Ronaldo falls over again, and cops plenty of abuse in doing so. His record of 13 goals in his last seven appearances against La Real may have something to do with the reception he’s getting from the home faithful.
9 min: Ronaldo attempts to chest the ball down on the edge of the Sociedad box. He falls over, claiming to have been tugged by Le Normand, but there was next to nothing in the challenge. While Ronaldo complains, Garnacho keeps going and whips a low ball through the six-yard box from the left. But there’s nobody making the run.
7 min: Marin wriggles away from a couple of Manchester United challenges in the centre circle. His attempt to release Sorloth down the right is unceremoniously nixed by Shaw’s no-nonsense intervention, but the home fans enjoyed that little burst of skill.
5 min: Merino slips a pass down the inside-left channel to release Carlos Fernandez into the United box. Fernandez lashes high and hard into the side netting, and the flag goes up correctly for offside anyway.
3 min: Rico dances his way down the inside-left channel and nearly breaks into the United box. He overruns the ball, allowing Lindelof to shepherd it out for a goal kick. United haven’t had much of a sniff yet.
1 min: A brisk start for the hosts, as Marin makes good down the left. He’s got a lot of time and space in which to work, so United are relieved to see the youngster hoick carelessly out for a goal kick.
United get the ball rolling. Sociedad have lost two of their last three matches, while United are unbeaten in eight. That should give Erik ten Hag’s men hope as they chase the two-goal victory they need for top spot, La Real’s much healthier goal difference the sticking point.
Updated
The teams are out! La Real and United emerge from the tunnel to a sodden Anoeta, the heavens having been open for most of the afternoon in San Sebastian. The hosts play in their blue and white stripes, while United sport third-choice highlighter green. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Erik ten Hag speaks to BT Sport. “We have to cover more games. Marcus Rashford had an injury a couple of weeks ago, and with so many games coming, he is important for us. We have to keep him going and in this form, and fresh. Donny van de Beek is back. We have some problems in the front line, and this is his moment. He has to take this moment. I know he can do it from the number ten position, playing between the lines, cutting behind, a good counter press, so I want to see it. Victor Lindelof has a really good combination with Lisandro Martinez, he dropped out for one game through illness and now he is back. We know what to do tonight. We have to bring tempo, and have a plan. We have an idea with Marcus Rashford at the end of the game, how to deal with that.”
Manchester United make three changes to the XI selected to start the 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday. Victor Lindelof, Donny van de Beek and Alejandro Garnacho replace Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga, all of whom drop to the bench.
Real Sociedad name a vastly different starting line-up to the one selected at Old Trafford back in September. Robin Le Normand, Diego Rico, Pablo Marín, Alexander Sørloth and Carlos Fernández are in; Aihen Muñoz, Takefusa Kubo, Umar Sadiq, Aritz Elustondo and former Manchester City man David Silva are not.
The teams
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Gorosabel, Le Normand, Pacheco, Rico, Mendez, Zubimendi, Merino, Marin, Sorloth, Carlos Fernandez.
Subs: Sola, Illarramendi, Zubeldia, Elustondo, Zubiaurre, Guevara, Navarro, Turrientes, Gonzalez, Marrero, Karrikaburu, Magunacelaya.
Manchester United: de Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, van de Beek, Garnacho, Ronaldo.
Subs: Maguire, Rashford, Malacia, Fred, Pellistri, Wan-Bissaka, Dubravka, Elanga, McTominay, Shoretire, Vitek, Iqbal.
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria).
Preamble
Last week, Manchester United did this …
… which means they’ve qualified for the knockout-round play-offs of the Europa League at the very least. But if they want to get straight through to the last 16, and avoid a knockout tie with a team freshly cashiered from the Champions League, they have to win in San Sebastian tonight … and beat Real Sociedad by two clear goals. Kick-off is at 5.45pm GMT. It’s on!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Sociedad | 5 | 9 | 15 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 3 | Sheriff | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 4 | Omonia Nicosia | 5 | -8 | 0 |
