Man United frustrated in 1st-leg draw at Real Sociedad
Ruben Amorim speaks about his hopes of improving Manchester United’s current form.
Manchester United took the lead through Joshua Zirkzee but were held to a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.
United had the only real chance of the first half against Sociedad when Bruno Fernandes had a goal-bound shot blocked and Zirkzee’s follow-up effort was saved.
Alejandro Garnacho hit a shot into the side netting but 12 minutes into the second half he pulled a pass back to the unmarked Zirkzee on the edge of the area and the Dutch forward drove a first-time shot past keeper Alex Remiro.
Sociedad pushed for an equaliser with Brais Mendez bending a shot just wide of the post and they were awarded a penalty for a handball by Fernandes which Mikel Oyarzabal converted to level the tie with 20 minutes remaining.
As the hosts grew in confidence, Mendez forced United keeper Andre Onana into a fine save and substitute Orri Oskarsson put a close-range effort wide but United hung on to remain the only unbeaten side in the competition this season.
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TRAVELLING SQUAD FOR REAL SOCIEDAD TIE
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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has named an 18-man squad for Thursday’s game against Real Sociedad.
The crucial Europa League round-of-16 first leg kicks off at 17:45 GMT, with the Reds’ group reduced in number due to injury.
Harry Maguire and Manuel Ugarte, as reported earlier, have joined the list of absentees after pick up minor knocks during the Emirates FA Cup exit to Fulham at the weekend.
Young midfielder Toby Collyer is back, though, and flies to Spain with the rest of the party.
Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu is eligible, despite his domestic suspension, and fellow wing-back Harry Amass is also included.
Ayden Heaven, signed in the winter window from Arsenal, follows up his senior debut for the club on Sunday with a maiden European trip.
Dermot Mee and Elyh Harrison are the back-up goalkeepers to regular first choice Andre Onana.
TRAVELLING SQUAD
Andre Onana, Dermot Mee, Elyh Harrison; Harry Amass, Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, Ayden Heaven, Victor Lindelof, Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro; Casemiro, Toby Collyer, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes; Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee.
WHEN IS THE PRESS CONFERENCE?
The boss is set to address the media from the Reale Arena around 18:15 GMT tonight (Wednesday).
Ruben will be joined by Matthijs de Ligt and we will be covering it in full on ManUtd.com and the United App.
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Real Sociedad’s Alex Remiro: ‘I like United but it feels as if something always goes wrong’
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ometimes it’s the detail that stays with you. Alex Remiro can’t remember the brand, but he can still see the colour, the way they looked, how much he liked them. “When I was a kid, if you became a goalkeeper it was because you were an Iker Casillas fan, because you were the biggest, or because no one else wanted to do it,” he says. Or because one day in Cascante, Navarre, a friend turns up with a pair of gloves: brand new, grey and very, very cool. “I was like: ‘Hey, let me have a go.’ I went in goal and, well, I never left again.”
Now he is ; a Copa del Rey winner , their first trophy in 34 years, albeit one won in an empty stadium and a year late, a sadness to the celebration they had to have without the fans and with a single family member each; and no one in La Liga has kept more clean sheets this season. And the way he tells it, that’s thanks in part to Manchester United, their opponents on Thursday, and the team who taught la Real a lesson. Literally, he says.
There, he won the first , the biggest game in any of their lives. Six weeks earlier in Turin, in pandemic-hit 2021, when Manchester United beat la Real, “things changed” he says, easing into a chair. It is the morning before face United again, a third meeting in five years, and the morning after , two of his mates scoring, which brings a smile.
Are you watching United now? Yes. For work and because I like to. I feel like the same is happening to them as happens to us, a bit. They have players with huge potential but they don’t seem to quite find the solution to be the team they once were, to be higher up. Maybe they need a run of five, six, seven games winning, but something always happens. I like the new coach, I like his ideas – I liked Erik ten Hag too – but it feels like something always goes wrong.
That blew my mind. What a player. Pff. Touched by a magic wand. Incredible. As good as Xavi or Iniesta, or even better. Each in their own way, with their own qualities, but he was in the top one. No doubt. A world champion, a European champion. He came here and you might think: “He’s old now.” But no: he was the one that most put his foot in in training, who most wanted to win, .
You do?! Here, a lot of the time they give fouls that aren’t. I think referees have to let it go a bit more. I’m not saying go , no, hahaha! But there can be more contact, more duels. But it’s a cultural thing, a context. In general, the game is stopped more here. We talk about it in the dressing room. There are referees who do our league games and then you see them in Europe and they’re letting it all go. And you think: “Bloody hell, great, but do it here too.”
In Spain, there’s more of a tendency to see a conspiracy? And the agenda is dominated by the big two. It’s always Barcelona this, Madrid that … I think those are excuses, that people don’t want to see the play. Also, I don’t want to believe that happens. [A genuine conspiracy] would be very heavy, it would take away the meaning of it all.
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And were you? I was. Totally. I was a brat.
Why? Excuses, all of it. I was a . But I’m from Navarra, I’m stubborn, and I knew I had to work through it. I found a way, tools. I now go into games stable, calm. In matches I talk a lot – and it’s more for me than them.
