Manchester United survived a scare in Czechia to emerge victorious after Rasmus Hojlund scored twice to hand the three-time European Champions a late win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.
After a fairly drab first half, the hosts profited from a sloppy pass by Andre Onana three minutes after the restart, duly punishing the error to the delight of the home fans inside the Doosan Arena.
United head coach Ruben Amorim quickly rang the changes, with Hojlund, Mason Mount, and Antony introduced, and the Dane making a near-instant impact.
First, the 21-year-old Copenhagen native tapped home the equaliser on 62 minutes after some great play by Amad Diallo saw his effort rebound off the keeper and into the striker’s path.
Then, a clever free-kick from Bruno Fernandes set the Scandinavian hitman up for a lovely winner in the 88th minute, giving United three points, which moved them up to fifth in the league phase of the competition.
With much to discuss, here are five talking points from United’s win in Plzen.
Hojlund bags himself a brace
The former Atalanta attacker has responded well to questions over who should lead the line for the Red Devils, netting two more goals on Thursday evening and taking his tally to five under Amorim (seven for the season).
Hojlund was in the right place at the right time for his first strike and displayed his finishing prowess for the clincher late in the game.
It’s great to see the young man finding both form and confidence now, especially as we enter such a vital period.
Portuguese tactician Amorim seems to build his teams around an imposing number 9, so let’s hope this continues.
Ruben’s reds show character
It took going behind before the visitors showed any real urgency. But, they knuckled down and dug themselves out of a hole, turning the game on its head with two goals inside the final half hour.
Instead of feeling sorry for themselves after going behind in the freezing temperatures, Amorim’s men rolled their sleeves up and showed some resilience to go and snatch the victory.
This is a positive sign and something the squad has been lacking in recent seasons.
We need to see more of this.
Diallo has become a key player
The Ivorian seems to have gone up a level under the new regime, and he has really started to blossom, particularly in his new role.
Reverting to a more familiar attacking position in Plzen, the 21-year-old was at his creative best when setting up Hojlund for the leveller.
By assisting the Danes goal, Diallo made it eight goal contributions in as many games, which is an impressive return.
Amad is quickly becoming undroppable in this United side.
Onana bailed out by his teammates
Last season, Onana made some galling errors, and many felt he was at fault for United crashing out of Europe.
The Cameroon international looked to have eradicated these blunders from his game with some brilliant performances over the past 12 months. However, the last two games have seen these lapses seemingly creep back in.
Frustratingly, he passed the ball straight to an opposing player when attempting to play out from the back to hand the Czech side the lead.
Fortunately, the mistake did not prove costly on this occasion, but he will have to find a way to cut these moments out in future.
Substitutions change the game
For the first hour of Thursday’s European encounter, United looked far too slow and pedestrian in their play, and conceding a goal proved to be the wake-up call they required.
Amorim swiftly brought on Hojlund, Mount and Antony, and his subs worked a treat with all three men impacting proceedings.
Mount looked bright and got into good positions in the attacking third immediately, and was unfortunate not to score.
The former Chelsea man was energetic and forced the issue as United started to dominate.
The much-maligned Antony saw plenty of the ball and should have made more of a late counterattack, while Hojlund was the match-winner with his double strike.
The former Sporting Lisbon boss has shown a knack for spotting when changes are needed, and this was on full display last night.
What did you make of Manchester United’s performance in Europe on Thursday evening?
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