Manchester United avoided a catastrophe as they produced one of the high-scoring football scores of the midweek action in the Europa League. Omonia Nicosia, fourth in the Cypriot league and coached by former Celtic manager Neil Lennon, led 1-0 at the halftime after a rapid break after a corner kick from Manchester United resulted in a goal by Karim Ansarifard.
After selecting a talented team that featured Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro, Erik ten Hag responded by substituting Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw. Rashford started the comeback with a clinical finish, and fellow substitute Anthony Martial put the visitors in lead. Rashford made it 3-1 to finish off a strong individual performance, but Nikolas Panayiotou forced United to maintain focus in the closing minutes after cutting the deficit.
Ronaldo appeared to be trying desperately to impress, but on a discouraging night, his 700th career goal eluded him, ending in a stunning miss that hit the post despite the goal open from six yards out. After losing to Real Sociedad 1-0 in their initial match, United won back-to-back games to take command of Group E. Despite dominating the first 30 minutes, United lacked efficiency in front of the goal. While Ronaldo was thwarted by the outstanding Omonia Nicosia goalkeeper Fabiano with a deft low save, Bruno Fernandes sent a shot looping off the crossbar.
Rashford then created a sophisticated flick to locate Martial, a fellow substitute, in outer space. By promptly firing his shot and hitting the bottom corner, the Frenchman demonstrated his degree of confidence. Ten minutes from the end, Ronaldo appeared to have averted a major crisis when he gave up attempting to score from every angle and delivered a deft ball across the goal for Rashford to tap in after hitting the post from six yards. Panayiotou’s goal into the top corner of the goal gave Omonia another chance to rally, but United held firm.
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