Manchester United redeemed themselves after their humiliating defeat to Liverpool with a brilliant 4-1 win over Real Betis in the Europa League. Despite their loss at Anfield, manager Erik ten Hag opted to field an unchanged starting XI for the visit of the LaLiga side to Old Trafford.
The Red Devils got themselves back on track with goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, and Wout Weghorst seeing off Manuel Pellegrini’s side. SunSport’s Martin Blackburn rates and slates each Man United performer on the day.
David de Gea had a quiet night as Betis scored with their only effort on target. However, he could not get his kicking right in the first half and it almost cost United dear on a couple of occasions.
Diogo Dalot looked uncertain for much of the first half up against the lively Juanmi and did not reappear for the second half as Wan-Bissaka replaced him. The full-back has had a difficult week.
Raphael Varane had a decent battle with on-loan Leicester man Ayoze Perez, but the French ace was assured for most of the night. Picking him and Martinez was a real show of support from Ten Hag, and they did not let the boss down.
Lisandro Martinez looked a class act and was rarely ruffled. After a testing day at Anfield on Sunday, this was just what he needed. He enjoyed himself when the home side got their noses in front in the second half.
Luke Shaw had a great low cross for Weghorst and managed to get something on Ayoze’s deflected effort to turn it onto the post in first-half stoppage time. He supplied the corner for Fernandes to head home number three.
Casemiro showed his quality with a cross early on which Weghorst should have converted. He had a few uncharacteristic misplaced passes like at Anfield but had a hand in Antony’s goal, which helped United re-take the lead.
Fred seems to link up well with his countryman Casemiro in the middle. He helped United keep control of the game apart from a spell at the end of the first half. He had one late chance after some nice work by Sancho, but his shot was weak.
Antony showed much more like it from the Brazilian who sent over some dangerous crosses then curled a beauty to restore United’s lead. He had a chance to kill the tie but chipped his effort onto the roof of the net. If only he could use his right foot.
Bruno Fernandes retained the armband and repaid his manager’s faith with a much-improved display. He had a hand in the first two goals and then thumped a header home for number three. He was rightly yellow carded for poor challenge on Bravo.
Wout Weghorst chested in an early goal but was denied by the offside flag, typical of the way his luck is going. He missed a couple of other golden chances, and it looked like another of those nights until he swept home a loose ball late on to FINALLY get his goal.
Marcus Rashford hammered in a superb opener to make it 26 for his excellent season and give United a perfect start. He was denied on a couple of other occasions before being given a rest midway through the second half.
As for substitutes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s introduction made the home side much better. Tyrell Malacia slotted in at left-back for the final quarter, while Jadon Sancho had some nice touches as United pushed to finish the tie on the night. Scott McTominay’s shot was saved but led to the goal that Weghorst swept home, and Facundo Pellistri played his part in the fourth goal with some clever work on the wing.
In conclusion, Manchester United bounced back from their Liverpool humiliation with an impressive win over Real Betis in the Europa League. The team showed resilience and determination to redeem themselves after their previous loss.