Manchester United claimed their first Europa League group stage victory on matchday two. The Red Devils beat FC Sheriff 2-0 in Moldova. First-half goals from Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo helped United pick up all three points.
Manager Erik ten Hag fielded a very solid starting XI on the night. Ronaldo, Sancho, Antony and Bruno Fernandes completed a powerful front four for the Red Devils. Sancho, who was snubbed earlier in the day by England national team manager Gareth Southgate, opened the scoring for United in the 17th minute of the match. The winger showed some shrewd footwork to dance through the Sheriff’s defense and put his team ahead.
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN’S PASS. THE JADON SANCHO FINISH. 💥 pic.twitter.com/mwJIRdAEvu
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 15, 2022
Defender Diogo Dalot was then brought down in the box around 20 minutes later. Ronaldo intervened take the penalty and convert to make it 2-0. The goal was the superstar’s first of the season, but the 699th for the club in his illustrious career.
Although United won the game quite comfortably, Sheriff collected more shots overall than the visitors.
Other results from the second day of the Europa League
Lazio, however, were stunned 5-1 by Midtjylland in Denmark. Although the Danish club are currently struggling domestically, they put in an excellent performance against the Whites and Sky Blues. Midtjylland had five different scorers on the night. Despite the dominating display, Lazio managed 65% possession in the game. Midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored his side’s only goal of the game.
Not to be outdone, Feyenoord beat Austria’s Sturm Graz six times in the other Group F game. The Dutch club netted four times in the first half, including a brace from Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Now, the four teams in the group are tied on three points.
Roma also bounced back from a disappointing first round of competition. The Serie A club hammered the HJK 3-0. The visitors were down to 10 men after Miro Tenho was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity in the 15th minute of the game. Roma were only able to capitalize on the advantage in the second half.
Half-time substitute Paulo Dybala scored just two minutes after being introduced. Lorenzo Pellegrini doubled the hosts’ lead moments later. The summer signing of Andrea Belotti has put the finishing touches on the Finnish club. It was the Italian’s first goal for his new team.
PHOTO: IMAGO / News images
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