Man Utd won 4-0 away victory over Real Sociedad in their round-of-32 first leg on Thursday. This tie took place in Turin, due to travel restrictions in Spain.
Remiro clattered into defender Robin Le Normand, United opened the scoring on 27 minutes. Fernandes scored a tap in from close range and net his 20th campaign goal in all competitions. La Real finished the half the stronger, but the “home” side failed to take advantage, despite some shaky United defending.
Adnan Januzaj, a former United Academy graduate, was up against his old side for the first time since leaving for Spain in 2017. Fernandes made it 2-0 on 57 minutes. The target was initially ruled out for offside, but the original decision was overruled by a VAR review and the goal was awarded by referee Sandro Scharer.
Sixty-four minutes later, United’s third came. Rashford ran on to Fred’s pass to poke the ball past Remir. Three minutes later, when James finished coolly from Mason Greenwood’s pass. But the England international was flagged offside. In the 89th minute, the Wales international ultimately made it 4-0 with a close-range finish.
The second leg will be played next Thursday at Old Trafford.
