Manchester United rose up in stoppage time to win against Rangers in the Europa League match on Thursday evening at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes kept his cool inside the box in the 92nd minute to put Ruben Amorim's side back in front after Cyril Desir had equalized just moments earlier for Rangers.
Before that, it looked like a comedic goal by Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland, who spent the first six months of 2023 on loan with the Red Devils, would be enough to decide the game.
How the game unfolded
The first big chance went Rangers' way after ten minutes. United lost the ball in their own half, and Toby Collier crowded into midfield after receiving a pass under pressure, leading to Nicolas Raskin's run towards goal. Altay Binder rushed out and Raskin stumbled at the critical moment, sending the United goalkeeper going over the top.
Binder was called into action again shortly afterwards, as he blocked an effort from fellow international Ridvan Yilmaz.
United controlled the ball without creating much interest, until midway through the first half when Alejandro Garnacho fired a shot on target that tipped Raskin's header over the bar. Matthijs de Ligt headed in the resulting corner, but a soft error from Lenny Euro disallowed the goal.
A good team move in the closing stages before half-time earned Amad Diallo a goal, slid in by a measured pass from Bruno Fernandes. Butland came out well to stifle him. He also had a strong hand on a powerful shot from Lisandro Martinez, either side of a badly deflected shot from Hamza Ijamani which went wide to the wrong foot of Binder across goal to clear.
Within a few minutes of the restart, Igamane was responsible for excellent defending inside his own penalty area when he headed a swinging corner shot almost under the crossbar.
United's early pressure continued and Fernandes' goal-bound shot was agonizingly saved by Robin Propper, from a corner kick that followed Butland's nightmare moment. The former England international never made a full run and was under the ball while attempting a clear shot, inadvertently causing it to spin back into the goal instead.
On the hour mark, Propper was the reason Jarnacho didn't make it 2-0 with a clever shot across goal from Amad's pass, heading the ball clear off the line. Harry Maguire also had a chance with a header at the back post that narrowly missed the target. Butland redeemed himself somewhat with a reflexive block to deny Manuel Ugarte's diving header and parry from Jarnacho.
Rangers were struggling to create chances in the second half as United's superior depth showed, but there were warning signs before the equalizer came, first when Gifty curled a powerful shot from just outside the box at Bender, and then Desires cleverly curled the post over. United No. 1 His 88th-minute goal was well executed, as he got the better of Maguire, controlled the falling ball and shot hard and low into the far bottom corner.
But the work is not finished yet. United pressed, and Martinez came from behind to fire an attractive cross into the box into the path of Fernandes, who met it with a direct shot to squeeze the ball through Butland's legs and seal the win.
Find out the Manchester United and Rangers player ratings from the match here.
After the agonizing loss to Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, Ruben Amorim said he wants the players to recapture the feeling they had when they came from two goals down to secure a draw against Liverpool earlier this month.
At the weekend, United played reasonably well in the first half, but let their heads down when Brighton regained the lead immediately after half-time. The lack of resilience is a criticism that has been leveled at the team for several years, and conceding a late Rangers equalizer in this match would have been a fatal blow in other circumstances.
But here, the players rallied, got to the end of the pitch and scored again to seal the win.
The first half was largely even and Rangers were good value for their equalizer in the second half, having mostly done well to keep United at bay and create chances of their own.
But neither midfielder Conor Barron nor centre-back Leon Balogun, both of whom played a crucial role in those efforts in the first 45 minutes, returned to the field. By the hour mark, Vaclav Cerny was also forced off injured, leaving Filip Klement to field young, inexperienced players in their places.
The equalizer came as a complete surprise, a long drive forward and a moment of individual skill from Cyril Desires. The Rangers hadn't been in the game for a while at that point.
Andre Onana has usually gotten the nod in the Europa League this season and has sat among the substitutes this season. Altay Binder, the domestic cup goalkeeper, started instead.
It was not lost on fans that Onana was guilty of a costly blunder against Brighton just a few days ago, having come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks after the type of mistakes that characterized his early United career appeared to have crept back into his game. .
Amorim played down the importance of switching goalkeepers, describing it before the match as a “normal rotation”, and explained the importance of keeping Binder fresh and active with useful playing time, and was careful to rule out the idea of repercussions for Onana.
Binder had a good game overall, losing to Desers but making several key saves.
Alejandro Garnacho's presence in the starting lineup was a bit of a surprise given his lack of recent starts and the speculation surrounding his uncertain future.
Amorim would not have chosen the winger if there was any doubt that he was not up to the task and the faith was repaid.
Jarnacho did not score or assist, but he was still a constant threat and attacking enforcer, registering more dribbles than anyone else on the pitch, taking five shots and touching the ball nine times inside the Rangers penalty area.
