Even in the week the death warrant for Old Trafford was signed, Manchester United showed there is still life in their season. When they trailed to Real Sociedad, it seemed as though it may be over in March, Old Trafford condemned to a year without European football, perhaps even having staged its last continental game. A comeback later, a Basque club were beaten and United’s hopes of returning to the Champions League via the Basque country were enhanced.
It was a cracking night, for the creaking old ground, the young coach and the captain alike. There are times when it has seemed that Bruno Fernandes is on a one-man crusade to salvage something from United’s season.
It may yet end with him lifting the Europa League trophy in Bilbao in May. His evening finished with the prize of the match ball for a hat-trick.
In a game of three penalties, United conceded the first, Fernandes scored two before finishing off a counter-attack. Sociedad remain the last visitors to win at Old Trafford in the Europa League, but at the start of Erik ten Hag’s reign. But here, Ruben Amorim’s side showed spirit in abundance to spark an atmosphere to savour in the infancy of this new era under the Portuguese.
Troubled as his introduction to English football has been, United are the only unbeaten side in the Europa League, a record they will take to Lyon in the last eight. For Sociedad, the dream of a final against their rivals Athletic Bilbao ended, finished off by Fernandes.
The Portuguese now has six goals in his last six games. Yet unlike in some of the others, he received plenty of support. United were depleted to such an extent that the teenager Ayden Heaven made his first start; with Heaven, however, this was not hell for United. Instead, the last men standing kept on running.
The recalled Rasmus Hojlund was powerful and purposeful, bursting behind the Sociedad defence, receiving more service than usual. But his goal drought continued; he angled a shot just wide after a cutback from Joshua Zirkzee, in itself a sign an understanding is belatedly developing. Zirkzee also came close without finding the net; a shot was clawed away, a header angled wide.
It was nevertheless a good night for both, just as it was for Patrick Dorgu, who won the second spot kick and whose running power was too much for Sociedad when the substitute Jon Aramburu was sent off for fouling him. For Dorgu, whose previous outing at Old Trafford brought him a red card, it was a sharp role reversal. In younger players performing for a youthful manager, United may have sensed a future.
Amorim had objected to the way he set United up against Arsenal, with a low block. This was a more up-tempo approach, with United further up the pitch. There was more of a throwback feel to a team attacking with abandon.
Were they galvanised by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s criticisms? One way or another, they were energised, those dubbed overpaid and not good enough able to see off a side in the lower half of LaLiga.
Like many a United team of the past, they did it the hard way. The two skippers traded spot kicks in the first quarter of an hour and Sociedad, who have lost their last three league games without scoring, struck first.
Matthijs de Ligt clattered into Mikel Oyarzabal. Referee Benoit Bastien needed to review the challenge on the pitchside monitor to see the offence but gave the penalty and the Euro 2024 final scorer sent Andre Onana the wrong way.
United were only behind for six minutes. Even as Alex Remiro made a superb save from Hojlund, the striker was fouled by Igor Zubeldia. Fernandes, who had created the chance, converted the spot kick. The same was true when Dorgu ran into Aritz Elustondo but the was also upended by him. Remiro guessed wrong again, Fernandes rolling the penalty past him. It briefly seemed he had a third spot kick – Dorgu sportingly told the referee that actually Hamari Traore did not foul him – but Fernandes soon had his treble anyway, angling in a shot from Alejandro Garnacho’s pass.
As ever, when United needed inspiration, the captain had obliged. Fernandes set the tone, the positivity of his passing rubbing off. The Portuguese theme was continued when Diogo Dalot delivered United’s fourth after fine work by Dorgu and Hojlund. For only the second time under Amorim, United scored four.
Old Trafford was raucous, crowd and players feeding off each other in a stirring night. There have been times this week when the thought has occurred that United may not fill a 100,000, £2bn stadium, that the experience of watching them may have become too depressing.
Not on this occasion. Old Trafford showed it can still feel special, United that they can resemble the United of old.
