English Premier League giants Manchester United overcame Cypriot club Omonia Nicosia in their last UEFA Europa League meeting.
Marcus Rashford scored a brace for the visitors while Anthony Martial scored the other goal. Meanwhile, Iranian striker Karim Ansarifard and Nikola Panagiotou were on the scoresheet for the hosts as they suffered a narrow loss to the Red Devils.
Before the game, Manchester United had only 1 point from their first two games in the group. On top of that, they lost their English Premier League against their arch-rivals by a 6-3 margin.
Spain goalkeeper David De Gea started in goal for United with Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia forming a four-man defense in front of him. Christian Eriksen and Casemiro started at the base of midfield. Antony and Jadon Sancho started on the wings with Bruno Fernandes playing as number 10. Cristiano Ronaldo started in the forward position.
Manchester United recorded a comeback win
From the start of the match, Manchester United put pressure on the Omonia Nicosia defence. The first chance of the game fell to Antony who, even after having a clear goal, tried to find Bruno Fernandes and wasted the opportunity.
Then shortly after, Bruno’s chip hit the bar agonizingly leaving the score 0-0. Despite United’s early dominance, it was Omonia who took the lead in the 34th minute of the match. Iranian striker Ansarrifard’s goal was a real shock for United as they failed to create any more chances in the first half.
Omonia returned to the locker room with a 1-0 lead. Ten Hag then made two changes at halftime and brought Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford onto the field.
Rashford then brought Manchester United back into the game. The English striker controlled a long pass from Bruno and then scored the equalizer with great effort.
United then took the lead through French striker Anthony Martial. After receiving a quick pass from Rashford, Martial dodged past a defender and hit a low shot on goal. Martial’s goal restored confidence to the Red Devils.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a glorious chance from the box but the Portugal captain missed the mark. However, Ronaldo later assisted Manchester United’s third goal which was scored by Rashford.
Omonia then pulled one back through Nikolas Panagiotou and threatened United’s defense for the rest of the match. United managed to hold on and earned a 3-2 win.
With this win, the Red Devils are now back in the race for the Europa League round of 16. They will now play Everton in their next game.
