Joshua Zirkzee scored his second goal in 16 matches as Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie in San Sebastian.
United took the lead shortly before the hour mark when Zirkzee lashed home Alejandro Garnacho’s pass.
Ruben Amorim’s side had missed a number of other chances to take a more commanding lead before Mikel Oyarzabal equalised from the penalty spot after Bruno Fernandes was ruled, after a VAR review, to have handled Takefusa Kubo’s corner.
Sociedad could easily have won it late on but substitute Orri Oskarsson shot wide from close range before forcing a fine save from Andre Onana in stoppage time.
It leaves the tie delicately poised before the second leg at Old Trafford next Thursday.
Full report to follow...
08:08 PM GMT
Ruben Amorim speaks to TNT Sports
I felt until the penalty we had control of the game.The penalty changed the momentum. Our team for the last 30 minutes was really, really tired and you could feel it. We take it to Old Trafford. The pressure will be on us at that stadium and the challenge will be surviving physically through Sunday [when they take on Arsenal] and be fresh for Thursday.
It was clearly fatigue. We were late on the balls in transitions and they were stronger in those 30 minutes.
Until the penalty, we had good possession, we put the ball behind. Our decision in the final third was not the best. We have to put that behind us. We move on to the next game.
07:46 PM GMT
Joshua Zirkzee tlks to TNT Sports
We were unlucky with the pen. We have to be relentless with our chances. We had enough of them. They have to come to Old Trafford but a draw away... We’re playing against a good footballing team and it’s not easy but look at the chances and we should have [scored] at least one more. In the end you have to win and we didn’t today.
They needed that goal, the way they pressed after it and the stadium reacted. We can do better. We could have stayed calm but we lost it a bit after that.
We just have to win [next week] that’s all that matters.
07:42 PM GMT
Full time: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Evenly poised. Manchester United were the better side until they scored and that, plus the introduction of the very lively Dutch forward Sheraldo Becker, put the home side in the ascendancy and they could easily have won that late on.
07:40 PM GMT
90+5 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Onana makes a firm save at the near post when Oyarzabal slips Oskarsson down the inside-left channel into the box. The Icelander hammers the shot across goal after sprinting behind De Ligt but Onana reaches it at full stretch to block it with a stromg left hand.
07:37 PM GMT
90+3 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
After a few rallies of head tennis in the Sociedad box from Bruno’s chip the home team breaks but United get enough numbers back to smother the counter.
07:36 PM GMT
90+1 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Collyer is legged up as he wanders through midfield 40 yards from goal. Free-kick and Bruno puts the ball down.
07:36 PM GMT
90 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Five minutes of stoppage time are signalled. Both sides content with the draw.
07:35 PM GMT
89 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Becker has shown Kubo and Dalot how to surprise defences as wingers. Hit the cross early.
07:33 PM GMT
87 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Man Utd make two late changes:
Collyer → Zirkzee
Lindelof → Yoro.
And the home side one:
Olasagasti → Sucic.
07:31 PM GMT
85 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Another fine cross by Becker, again whipped in early. De Ligt slips but manages to improvise on the ground and (literally) shake a leg to poke it away from Oskarsson. From pathetic to balletic.
07:30 PM GMT
83 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Big chance for Oskarsson after Becker sprints down the right and whips over the early cross, bending it perfectly to the left of the penalty spot. The Iceland centre-forward meets it with his left with Yoro breathing down his neck and toe-pokes it wide with his left foot.
07:28 PM GMT
81 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Becker tries to outmuscle Mazraoui but is held off on the byline and the ball goes out for a goal-kick.
07:25 PM GMT
79 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
United defend the corner with apparent ease.
Becker → Kubo.
07:24 PM GMT
77 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Mendez, who has switched to the right, cuts across field to bend a shot from 22 yards that Onana has to dive and slap behind because it would have curled in had he left it alone.
Eriksen → Garnacho.
I can’t see Garnacho being there next season. He has the face on, as if to say, ‘Why always me?’
07:20 PM GMT
74 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
Onana catches Kubo’s dinked cross. United were on top in the second half but there’s new life in Sociedad now and the crowd, roused from its torpor, is roaring them on.
07:19 PM GMT
72 min: Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1
It may not be full but those home fans that are here in the cheapest seats to the most expensive unite in doing the Poznan to celebrate their equaliser.
Was it a penalty? Yes. His hand was in an unnatural position and it stopped a goalscoring opportunity.
07:14 PM GMT
GOAL!
Real Sociedad 1 Man Utd 1 (Oyarzabal, pen) Sits the keeper down, falling to his right as he bends it into the left of the goal.
07:14 PM GMT
Sociedad penalty
Bruno’s arm is high as he leaps to head a corner away and touches the ball before Aguerd was about to head it himself.
07:13 PM GMT
65 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 1
Mendez has a dig from 25 yards that makes Onana sweat at the last as it fades past the post. He had decided to leave it but it was closer than he thought.
Triple change:
Oskarsson → Barrenetxea
Aramburu → Elustondo
Marín → Turrientes.
07:08 PM GMT
62 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 1
Hojlund holds a pass drilled down the middle, opens his body to tap it to his right for Garnacho to meet in his stride with a shot that zips into the side-netting again.
Really good goal, and well deserved. Casemiro does really well to release Dalot through the middle of the pitch. Garnacho drew an array of defenders then swept a low cross into the path of Zirkzee, whose shot flies through the legs of Benat Turrientes and in, with the goalkeeper appearing partially unsighted although he should have done better. It’s been one way traffic in the second period. It’s a much slower pace than the Premier League and Casemiro is making the most of that in the middle. The wing-backs are getting forward. Zirkzee’s movement is causing Sociedad problems and they can’t quieten Fernandes. Garnacho is getting into good areas but his shooting is letting him down.
07:07 PM GMT
60 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 1
United deploy the same diagonal again, picking out the runsof Dalot and Garnach down the right but this time Dalot slips.
07:02 PM GMT
GOAL!
Real Sociedad 0 Manchester United 1 (Zirkzee) United work the ball 40 yards from the left to the wide right. Garnacho cushions the pass, Dalot overlaps to occupy a defender and allow Garnacho to cut inside and square it across the 18-yard line for Zirkzee to arrow low into the centre of the net. The keeper, wrong-footed and heading to his left, couldn’t shift his momentum back in time to reach it.
07:02 PM GMT
56 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Bruno is booked for dissent after United concede a corner that they defend comfortably. He was claiming he was fouled. United counter at pace with Dorgu but not enough pace as Munoz sprints across from the left to cover and draws the foul from Dorgu.
United very much on top in the second half but can’t, so far at least, make their chances count. Garnacho should have done better but found the side netting from an inviting opening. United are getting on the ball and the likes of Fernandes and Zirkzee are beginning to grow in influence. Real Sociedad aren’t up to much and United should be putting them away.
07:00 PM GMT
54 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Garnacho has another shot, this one teed up by Bruno’s excellent hold up play in the six-yard box, back to goal when the ball was spun over the top. He lays it back to Daloy who feeds Garnacho and he boots it into his other foot and it loops gently to the keeper.
06:58 PM GMT
52 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Big chance for Garnacho at the back post when Dorgu is set up to cross by a lovely Zirkzee flick. The left wing-back rattles the daisycutter through the six-yard box, stranding Alex Remiro but Garnacho tamely side-foots it into the side-netting rather than committing to the shot with his laces.
06:56 PM GMT
50 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Zubeldia is yellow-carded for a yank on Hojlund’s shirt after being rolled by the centre-forward. Bruno wants a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity but there were two on the cover.
Bruno takes the free-kick from 25 yards and gets it over the wall but without enough swerve or dip to beat Alex Remiro.
06:54 PM GMT
48 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Yoro to the rescue when Sociedad, who have found some urgency that was entirely absent in the first half, send Kubo to stride down the right and whip over a near-post cross. Oyarzabal runs across Yoro and flings his head at it but I don’t think he touched it and Yoro stopped the cross creeoing across goal.
06:52 PM GMT
46 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Yoro heads out Elustondo’s trebuchet long throw.
06:44 PM GMT
Paul Scholes at half-time
Quite comfortable from Manchester United and they should have been ahead. [Sociedad] haven’t been a threat. I’m sure they will be in the second half. For Dalot not to see that great run [by Hojlund] is criminal really. Any right-back in world football, not to have seen that is criminal and it’s an easy goal for Hojlund. Onana has had nothing to do but they have some sharp players, Kubo, Oyarzabal, who could come good. Quite simple for a United midfielder. Just clip it over. They’ve got no pace at the back but it’s been disappointing from Garnacho who I don’t think has made a single run in behind.
06:36 PM GMT
Half-time: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Like a discordant voice, this is a match so far that only a mother could love. Two teams lacking confidence and poise. Manchester United have been the better team but that’s not saying all that much. Whenever they have had the ball out wide, the delivery has been poor. But it still seems like their best strategy.
06:33 PM GMT
45+3 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Onana hooks away a corner with his left hand and is awarded a free-kick for a foul by Zubeldia.
06:32 PM GMT
45+1 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Sociedad demand a penalty for a handball from the corner when Mendez’s flick on hits Zirkzee’s hand in front of his chest but the referee waves away the appeals, rightly.
06:31 PM GMT
44 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Manchester United have had more attempts on target but both sides look vulnerable and mentally shaky.
Good interception from De Ligt stops Kubo getting a shot away, prodding it behind for a corner.
06:28 PM GMT
42 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Dalot steals in from the right to reach Bruno’s diagonal chip, blindsiding Zubeldia 15 yards out but the header slides off his brow rather than being met with force and Alex Remiro pouches an easy save.
06:25 PM GMT
39 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Dalot escapes a booking for sticking out a leg to stop Barrene going round him after beating him. Free-kick on the left, taken by Kubo and headed away. Set-piece delivery of both sides has been garbage.
06:24 PM GMT
37 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
This time Dalot does put the ball in early, cutting it back to Bruno 14 yards out in the middle of the box. He stabs a shot as he slips that beats Remiro but is blocked a foot in front of the line by Elustondo’s thigh. When Zirkzee clips the rebound Elustondo is there to block it again with his shin.
06:20 PM GMT
35 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Sociedad corner after a diagonal from the left sends Kubo down the line and up the byline to cross into De Ligt and behind. Zirkzee wins the header at the corner and Garnacho then ruins the prospect of a break with a poor touch and even worse decision making.
06:18 PM GMT
33 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
That was a snapshot of why Manchester United struggle to score goals. Mazraoui plays a fine ball in behind for Dalot. It was crying out to be crossed low and first time into the penalty area where Hojlund was primed and had got ahead of his marker. Instead, Dalot cuts back inside and the moment goes. Dorgu ends up firing over and Hojlund gives Dalot both barrels, with the right wing-back having the temerity to answer back. Dismal decision-making.
06:17 PM GMT
32 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Poor corner from Bruno, easily repelled.
06:16 PM GMT
30 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Dorgu joins the attack and plays the early cross with Zirkzee and Hojlund in the box. He sends the centre to the near post, not where either had made their runs, but Sociedda scramble it behind to remove all threat, however minimal.
06:15 PM GMT
28 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
After treatment Dorgu is OK to carry on. United build a scrappy attack down the right. Garnacho tries to break through the thicket of defenders with brute force, attempting to shoot through flesh and bone but does not succeed.
06:13 PM GMT
26 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Dorgu heads away Mendez’s shallow cross. Pretty sterile game so far but United look solid compared with the last few weeks. Now Dorgu is down holding his left thigh. He was clattered during the challenge and landed heavily.
06:10 PM GMT
24 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Elustondo is hurt after going up to win a header with Zirkzee. The Dutch attacker caught him midair on the instep with his studs.
06:07 PM GMT
21 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Hesitation from Dalot after a fine pass over the top from Casemiro. He drives behind the defender and Hojlund has made the right supporting run but Dalot dithers, turns back and rolls it to Garnacho among retreating blue and white shirts. They work it Dorgu who wobbles a right-foot shot over from 20 yards but Dalot ought to hang his head. His lack of courage and belief there ruined the best opportunity they have had. Hojlund may or may not prove to be a dud. But how can we tell with such rotten service?
06:04 PM GMT
19 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Turrientes drops his shoulder and hares past Bruno on his inside shoulder to shoot... wide as Casemiro slides in late to try to tackle him in vain.
06:03 PM GMT
18 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Outrageous trap by Aguerd under pressure from Garnacho chasing a long pass. He kills it with the sole of his heel and then scrapes it away from the winger.
06:01 PM GMT
16 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Barrene stands up a cross from the left with his right looking for Kubo and Onana is quickly off his line to catch oon his six-yard line.
06:00 PM GMT
15 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Garnacho, who had a three-minute run on the left, has now gone back over to the right. Neat touch by Turrientes to win the Ball and spirit it away from Bruno with a cute flick.
05:59 PM GMT
13 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Pass from Mazraoui into the feet of Hojlund in the centre-circle. Garnacho and Dorgu join him, running in parallel up the left. Dorgu takes the full-back away so that Garnacho has some room to shoot when played in but he pumps it straight at the keeper.
05:56 PM GMT
11 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
United corner on the left after Fernandes and Zirkzee combine to pick out Hojlund’s run down the inside-left channel and his cross hits the defender and ricochets behind.
Bruno has two bites at the cross but can cause no problems for a well-set defence.
05:54 PM GMT
9 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Oyarzabal, wearing his Basque flag armband, is caught offside after that throw-in. United take the free-kick quickly but are held up by Munoz’s tackle on their right.
There are a lot of empty seats here. Around 4,000 tickets have not been sold in the home end. United have an allocation of 2,000 that sold out.
05:53 PM GMT
7 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Casemiro drops back to cover on the left and stop Sucic’s run behind Dorgu at the cost of a throw-in.
05:52 PM GMT
6 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Kubo, the Japan right-winger, crosses into the box and Yoro heads it away. The ball is played back out to Kubo and this time his cross is booted away by Dorgu.
05:50 PM GMT
5 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Zirkzee lays it off for Hojlund who darts down the inside-left and into the box, his legs a Billy Whiz-whirr. But when he picks his head up to try to feed Dorgu for a shot, he picks out Aguerd instead.
05:48 PM GMT
3 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Onana puts his foot on top of the ball when closed down by Oyarzabal and flicks it backwards between his legs to evade the Euro 24-winner. United shift it up the right but the ball up for Garnacho is too long and he grabs Mendez round the neck to stop him running off upfield.
05:47 PM GMT
1 min: Real Sociedad 0 Man Utd 0
Manchester United, wearing red shirts and black shorts and socks, kick off, knock it back to Yoro who launches a long diagonal looking for Zirkzee on the left but Elustondo beats him in the air.
05:44 PM GMT
I decree today that life is simply taking and not giving
Sociedad have now confirmed Zubimendi is missing through illness not injury.
05:43 PM GMT
Out come the teams
I’d give you a whiff of the Europa League anthem lyrics but no one could be bothered to write any. And in any case, I’m too filled with dread at the prospect of Robbie Savage on co-commentary duty.
05:30 PM GMT
Ruben Amorim speaks to TNT Sports
We need to be really strong especially at the beginning of the game. It’s going to be really intense and we chose the team with that in mind. We don’t have a lot of options but they are ready. We have tried to manage their load over the last three games. They will feel it in the second half but we we can cope with the physicality of the game. [Sociedad] are really brave under pressure and play a high line so he [Rasmus Hojlund] can use this space. He has to enjoy his game again, focus on the small things. Possession of the ball [is key]. We have to be careful. They are strong [on the counter]. If we have the ball it is impossible to score against us. We have to be careful in the build-up, they are fast, brave and strong.
05:15 PM GMT
It’s quiet, Carruthers. Too dashed quiet
It’s 40 minutes until kick off and there is barely a soul in the stadium. It all felt very low key outside the ground too. Expect it’ll be different come kick off but quite unusual to be this quiet with kick off not that far away.
05:12 PM GMT
On United’s threadbare bench
Dermot Mee and Elyh Harrison are both goalkeepers. So they have only five outfield options.
04:59 PM GMT
The teams in black and white
Real Sociedad Remiro; Elustondo, Aguerd, Zubeldia, Muñoz; Méndez, Turrientes, Sucic; Kubo, Oyarzabal, Barrene.
Substitutes Marrero, Oskarsson, Becker, Lopez, Olasagasti, Gomez, Traore, Aramburu, Marin, Martin, Beita, Mariezkurrena.
Manchester United Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Yoro; Dalot, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Dorgu; Zirkzee, Garnacho; Hojlund.
Substitutes Harrison, Mee, Amass, Heaven, Lindelof, Collyer, Eriksen.
Referee Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia)
04:44 PM GMT
Zubimendi update
The big news out of San Sebastian is Martin Zubimendi, Real Sociedad’s star midfielder and a target for Arsenal this summer, is out altogether through injury. He picked up a hamstring injury in the weekend’s 4-0 defeat by Barcelona and has not recovered in time in a significant boost to Ruben Amorim and his own injury depleted United. United have 10 players missing through injury and name only seven substitutes. Striker Chido Obi has not been registered for the Europa League so is not here
04:36 PM GMT
Dorgu returns for Manchester United
04:35 PM GMT
No Zubimendi for Sociedad
The midfielder is injured.
04:14 PM GMT
Europa League or bust: The £80m payday Man Utd and Amorim desperately need
There is little doubt there needs to be a long-term vision for a brighter future at Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim touched on that this week when he said the club are “trying to build something that is going to last more than any trophy this season”, a stance he reiterated on Thursday when he said there are “more important things than to win cups in this moment”.
If United are to progress under Amorim, though, they are going to need some serious room for manoeuvre in this summer’s transfer window and the only way they can adequately facilitate that is by winning the Europa League in the coming months and, with it, secure a route back into the Champions League and an £80 million payday.
04:06 PM GMT
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04:06 PM GMT
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04:05 PM GMT
Preview: Another port in the storm
Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of the Europa League Round of 16 match between Real Sociedad and Manchester United in wonderful San Sebastián. This competition has been the port in a torrential storm of a season for United, a campaign in which they currently lie 14th in the Premier League having won only a third of their games and were knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties last week. By contrast, five wins and three draws in their eight group stage matches propelled them to third in the 36-team table and a bye into the last 16.
Invincible so far, their last chance of securing European football for next season rests on them maintaining that all the way to and through the final back in northern Spain at San Mames on May 21. It’s going to be a tough ask tonight given who is here and who has been left at home. Lisandro Martínez and Amad Diallo are out for the season and beyond, Mason Mount is unlikely to be back before late April, Luke Shaw’s return is wrapped in a year-long mystery, Kobbie Mainoo and Altay Bayindir are out for a few weeks, Manuel Ugarte and Harry Maguire are back in Manchester after hobbling out of the FA Cup defeat while Jonny Evans has a long-standing problem with his back. I make that nine out with injury plus Chido Obi is also missing because as a signing from Arsenal he would have had to be among the registered 25 ‘senior’ players unlike those who have come up through the United system.
Toby Collyer has travelled 35 days after he was injured against FCSB but the bench will be stacked with fellow greenhorns Dermot Mee, Elyh Harrison, Harry Amass and Ayden Heaven from the 18-man squad. Fortunately Sociedad, whom they beat 4-0 away in 2021 en route to the final, are not in great nick either having been defeated 4-0 by Barcelona last week which leaves them ninth in La Liga and their three losses in the group stage pitted them against Midtjylland in the play-off, which they won 7-3 on aggregate. The much coveted Martin Zubimendi anchors their midfield but their form is all over the shop which should give some encouragement to the beleaguered but not downbeat Ruben Amorim.
