Manchester United and Real Sociedad played out a bore draw on Thursday evening in their Europa League round of 16 first leg in Spain
19:41, 06 Mar 2025Updated 19:48, 06 Mar 2025
Ruben Amorim, Manager of Manchester United, reacts during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Round of 16 First Leg match between Real Sociedad de Futbol and Manchester United at Reale Arena on March 06, 2025 in San Sebastian, Spain.
Man Utd played out a bore draw on Thursday(Image: Getty Images)
Manchester United's struggles in sunny Spain continued during a warm evening in San Sebastian.
After a snoozefest of a first-half, the Red Devils came out swinging and took a well deserved lead after a lovely finish from Joshua Zirkzee. However, a Bruno Fernandes handball allowed Real Sociedad back into the game.
Orri Oskarsson had a glorious chance to commit a smash and grab akin to Liverpool's win over PSG on Wednesday - but the sides couldn't be separated. And Daily Star Sport has a look at what Ruben Amorim got right and wrong in the Europa League.
Corners, corners and more corners
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad's penalty stemmed from a corner(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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The Red Devils were cruising, they looked to have put their Spanish hoo-doo to bed - before Real Sociedad won a corner.
Like kryptonite to Superman, corners have been a thorn in United's side through Ruben Amorim's short tenure at the helm of the Red Devils. And that was the case again during a warm evening in San Sebastian as Reala won a penalty after Bruno Fernandes handled the ball.
"I really don’t understand how United are so poor both taking and defending corners. Painful to watch honestly," one fan said. As another added: "Here we go again..."
Overlapping runs
Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Round of 16 First Leg match between Real Sociedad de Futbol and Manchester United at Reale Arena on March 06, 2025 in San Sebastian, Spain.
Man Utd utilised the overlapping runs to carve out some chances(Image: Getty Images)
Whisper it quietly, Diogo Dalot - in the build-up - had a really good game.
It was the type of performance that Ruben Amorim wants from his wingbacks - he marauded forward and was only let down by his decision making in the final third. And while it wasn't all there this evening, it stands in good stead for what Amorim is trying to build.
"Dalot for me has all the physical attributes of being good footballer just lacks IQ I think," one fan admitted. While a second said: "Some good execution from Dalot and Garnacho! Look at that. Finally!"
Rasmus Hojlund
Rasmus Hojlund
Rasmus Hojlund had a good game(Image: Getty Images)
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It's been a tough season for the young Danish striker, there's no denying that.
However, he had one of his better games in northern Spain on Thursday evening. Hojlund did a lot of things right - he held up the ball, he made runs in from behind, and he likely would have found the back of the net if Diogo Dalot had squared the ball.
It really does feel like last chance saloon for Hojlund at United, but with these type of performances he might buy himself more time.