UEL: Man United take commanding first-leg lead
Manchester United 4 - 1 Real Betis
Manchester United beat Real Betis 4-1 in the first leg of the Europa League Round-of-16 clash.
Marcus Rashford opened the scoring for the Reds in the sixth minute, with a rifling strike that emphatically flew past Claudio Bravo. Despite an excellent start by United, our goal would be cancelled out just after the half-hour mark due to the on-loan Ayoze Perez firing across David De Gea into the bottom corner.
Erik's reds prove too strong
Antony restored United's lead with a trademark effort that curled beyond a stranded Bravo, who could only watch as it hit the top corner. Minutes later, Bruno Fernandes got in on the act from Luke Shaw's corner. The no.8 wasn't picked up as he wandered into the area to make it 3-1 on the night.
The final goal fell to Wout Weghorst, scoring his first in front of the Old Trafford faithful. Second-half substitute Facundo Pellistri was at the heart of the move, originally teeing up Scott McTominay whose shot was saved by Bravo, but Weghorst buried the rebound to complete an impressive 4-1 victory for Manchester United. They recovered well from their trauma against Liverpool.
Highlights Back To Winning Ways 💪✅ | Man Utd 4-1 Real Betis | Highlights - YouTube
What are the Manchester United fans saying?
Liam, a Manchester United Season Ticket holder, said: "It was a great second-half performance from us. There were some concerns in the crowd at half-time but we recovered well in the end."
Lucy, another United fan, was sat in the Stretford End. She added: "A great recovery from us after the defeat on Sunday, Well done reds."
More Manchester United news and stories from across our network
PL reaction: United head back down to earth (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
UEL: Man United progress after a memorable European night (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
United Icons: Denis Irwin (superredssupernews.blogspot.com)
Reaction from Real Betis
Real Betis manager Manuel Pelligrini spoke with the media after the match. The former Manchester City and West Ham manager said: "We competed very well in the first-half. It was a great goal from Antony and the corner finished the game off. They were superior towards the end of the game. They could have scored a couple more. The game was decided in five minutes. The first-half was even. Once they scored that great goal from Antony, after those two goals, we weren’t the team we normally are."
Jaoo is a Real Betis fan who travelled from Spain for the match. He said: "Unfortunately, I think a 4-1 defeat is too much to overcome for us now. 3-1 would have been possible but this is a step too far."
