That might not be too scary, but it wasn’t how they wanted it. Two more games is not what they wanted. Garnacho’s superb strike after quarter of an hour had briefly given them hope of avoiding it, but a goal was not enough. United needed two, and although they might have got it when Cristiano Ronaldo went clear in the first half to miss the best chance of the night, they never came close again. Real Sociedad deserved this. The excitement Garnacho was seeing apart, as well as a few moments from Bruno Fernandes, didn’t do much for a team that finished the match with Harry Maguire up front. The goal was clear. the route there, less so. “We know what we have to do,” Ten Haag said. United should have scored two goals. So, said Imanol Alguacil, Real did. When reminded of the 4-0 against United in Turin on the eve of that game, the manager retorted “the last two games against them were 0-0 and 0-1, four points and only one goal conceded”. His side came into this having conceded just once in this competition, but he took it for granted that the visitors would score here. “We will need to score at least two goals to win. They will definitely attack us. Either we’ll realize we have to score two or we won’t be top of the group.” The opener suggested they did indeed have this in mind, Pablo Marin firing the opener after just thirty-five seconds and Carlos Fernandez hitting the side-netting four minutes later. La Real wanted the ball and by halftime they had triple attacks. And yet, that might have suited United, who were visible when they had the chance to move, the space behind the two full-backs there to meet – which is how he got the first goal. Fernandes beat Diego Rico to the header, Ronaldo collected and laid a perfectly weighted pass for Garnazzo. He beat Andoni Gorosabel and curled a superb shot past Álex Remiro and into the net. It was his first for the club. the finisher’s confidence said it won’t be the last. The confidence of the minutes that followed as well. This was a lively performance, and he was soon on the receiving end of a great pass from Fernandes to shoot. Real kept coming, but there was a nervousness when United came out, best expressed when Jon Pacheco cleared the ball, with Ronaldo right behind him. Alone, the ball rose, an invitation he never refused. But Ronaldo lifted it over Remiro and over the bar, his lob ending up in the roof of the net. Alejandro Garnazzo scores Manchester United’s first-half winner. Photo: Álvaro Barrientos/AP At the other end, the impressive Marin, 19 and making just his second start, flicked one into the area just as things were opening up in front of him and had an even bigger chance only for David de Gea to somehow keep him out. De Gea’s first save was excellent, one-handed low to his right. the second, from just a yard out, saw him recover quickly and dive before Marin’s follow-up, the ball hitting his shoulder. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Marin was withdrawn to applause just before the hour, as Marcus Rashford was brought on, four simultaneous changes seemed to signal change: Real would fight back, United would attack. Rashford’s first run immediately revealed the intended threat. Given a role behind the strikers, where the departing Donny van de Beek had little real impact, there was little else. Real continued to have a lot of the ball, and the territorial advantage too, if not much clarity around the area. When Luke Shaw slipped, a poor pass from Robert Navarro saw the three point fall short. The game was getting scrappy now, at the ends, and it felt more and more like a case of next-goal wins. Sociedad were closer, Alexander Sorloth twice threatening, De Gea making a fairly simple save from Ander Guevara and Navarro advancing deep into the United area, his effort blocked. Crosses came and went for Real, the total number of shots reached 15-4 and changes were made. Including, finally, Maguire – up front. That didn’t work either.
