Manchester United recovered from back-to-back defeats in the English Premier League to secure victory over Viktoria Plzeň in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
It has not been an easy road for Ruben Amorim's team in the Czech city known around the world as the spiritual home of pilsner beer. The Red Devils fell behind early in the second half after a gift scored by former EFL Championship player Matej Vydra.
But two substitutes from Rasmus Hoglund saved any embarrassment to ensure United's victory.
How the game unfolded
The first half of this scene wasn't really exciting. At the end of the first 45 minutes, United controlled the ball without creating anything notable. Victoria had a few more shots but none were on target to test Andre Onana.
United had a xG of 0.20 in the first half, with Victoria at 0.16 per Footmob. This was the lowest expected goals (0.36) in the first half of any Europa League match this season.
Thank God there was more in the second half.
However, it started out scary from United's point of view. Onana was the guilty party, as he attempted to play out from the back and pass the ball straight to Pavel Sulke on the edge of his own penalty area. A can't miss square ball to Vydra and the veteran striker.
Ironically, it was Salke who was almost converted next united Way back into the game when Hoglund took advantage of a poor back pass, through on goal, although enough pressure from a recovering Sampson Doue meant the final shot was too weak to beat Martin Jedlicka.
However, it was a sign that Hoglund meant business, and he scored soon after when he was in the right place at the right time to tap in the rebound from Amad Diallo's blocked shot.
The Dane changed the course of the match, and his goal helped revive the team. He wasted a chance midway through the second half when he was unable to connect with Bruno Fernandes' ball across the face of goal. But the duo succeeded in achieving the winning goal in the 88th minute, as the United captain passed his striker into the penalty area with a convincing reverse pass from a deep free kick.
Hoglund's first touch saw the ball appear attractive as he rolled his marker, slid his left leg through to fire a shot across goal into the bottom corner.
Check out the player ratings for Viktoria Plzeň 1-2 Manchester United here.
Amorim has yet to settle on a starting striker, recently stating that the matter may become clearer over the course of the season as the team settles in. When fit, Hoglund was under his predecessor Erik ten Hag, but the Dane has had to accept rotation from the new coach until now.
When Amorim decides who he wants to lead the line long-term, Hoglund will want to be at the front of the queue – as will Joshua Zirkzee – so seizing those opportunities is important.
It wasn't Zirkzee's night here, nor was Marcus Rashford's, but Hoglund brought United back level within seven minutes of replacing the latter early in the second half, before going ahead to score the winner. The Dane has now scored five times in his last four matches in all competitions.
In the week it was It was reported that United are ready to listen to the offers presented to RashfordSome circles claimed that he was “fighting for his future” at the club, and this match was the main reason for the response.
He didn't come.
Following United's first-half performance in Plzeň, Rashford was the first player drawn to Amorim as he looked to inject something different into a lackluster attack.
according to Footmob Statistics: Rashford's total xG and xA during 55 minutes on the pitch was 0.02. He had no shots, created no chances and only had three touches in the Victoria penalty area. If he really has to 'fight' for his United career, this is not the way to do it.
You have to imagine that in the Manchester derby at the weekend, Amorim will look to Alejandro Garnacho in the left-wing striker role instead.
Andre Onana will never want to see that again 🫣
A gift from United goalkeeper and old Reading boy Matej Vydra pounces and puts Plzen ahead 😱
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/fHlsdddhgp
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 12, 2024
It wasn't the best start to his United career in the first half of last season, with Onana being guilty of a number of big mistakes that proved costly in those early months. But then the Cameroonian improved so much that he often became the best player in the team.
In the last two games, it has looked as if Onana has returned to where he was more than a year ago. It wasn't great goalkeeping when Morgan Gibbs-White's shot for Nottingham Forest easily beat him at the weekend and it was a loose pass that gave Victoria their goal here.
United have not won any of their first three Europa League matches this season against Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce. But after victories over PAOK and Bodo/Glimt in this match, the Red Devils achieved their third win in a row.
The team sits in 12th place in the table heading into kick-off, and the result in Plzeň puts the Amorim side in fifth place in the final standings – before the evening's subsequent matches are concluded. The top 24 teams will qualify for the knockout rounds, but only the top eight teams will automatically qualify directly to the round of 16.
This is clearly where United want to be, not least because they will potentially take two games off the calendar in the new year due to their ability to get past the knockout round. The final two fixtures in the league stages will be against Rangers and FCSB, both of whom are in and around the same part of the table.
