Viktoria Plzen vs Man Utd LIVE: Europa League result and reaction as Hojlund brace ensures win
Ruben Amorim’s side look to bounce back from consecutive defeats with an away clash in Europe
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United weathered another mistake from Andre Onana to complete a comeback victory over Viktoria Plzen to move closer to winning automatic qualification for the Europa League round of 16.
The first half in the Czech Republic has a lacklustre affair as United controlled possession but created little opportunities. In comparison the hosts looked sharp on the counter-attack and weren’t shy to shoot.
Plzen were then gifted the opening goal in the second half as Onana attempted to play out from back. The United goalkeeper gave up the ball and allowed Matej Vydra to tap in from close range.
Ruben Amorim switched things up almost immediately and brought on the substitutions. Mason Mount was a bright spark but Rasmus Hojlund changed the game. He got on the end of passes from Amad Diallo and Bruno Fernandes to equalise and then win the game late in the day.
Relive the Europa League action with our live blog below:
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Man Utd
15 mins: Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo combine beautifully to get the ball forward on the right side of the pitch. Fernandes plays the one-two with Amad then continues his run into the box.
He sprints to the byline yet keeps the ball in play before looking for the pass into the six-yard box. His effort is intercepted and cleared away.
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Man Utd
12 mins: Casemiro seems okay and heads back onto the pitch as Plzen push high to keep the pressure on Ruben Amorim’s side.
A long throw comes into the box and Onana tries to punch it away. Again he misses it before Marcus Rashford fumbles an attempted clearance.
United look awful at the back. It’s too panicky.
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Man Utd
9 mins: Bruno Fernandes gets a talking to from the referee for a lunging tackle on Lukas Cerv but he avoids a yellow card. Plzen win a free kick inside United’s half and lift the ball into the penalty area.
Andre Onana comes off his line to punch the ball but doesn’t get there. Instead Daniel Vasulin wins the header but unfortunately for him can’t direct his header towards goal.
Onana’s lunge for the ball has had bad consequences. He clatters into Casemiro and takes the wind out of the midfielder.
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Man Utd
6 mins: Plzen have set up with five at the back and haven’t been too adventurous in the first few minutes of this game. United are expected to have most of the possession and it’ll be interesting to see if they can break their hosts down.
Joshua Zirkzee goes on a nice run to carry the ball into the box. He shrugs off a tackle and spins into the area before looking for a teammate in the six yard area.
The cross is deflected and goes out for a corner.
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Man Utd
3 mins: Man Utd are unbeaten in Europe this season but they have never won in the Czech Republic. Will they do so for the first time tonight?
At present there’s a midfield battle developing over possession of the ball with neither team coming out on top.
Kick off! Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Man Utd
Joshua Zirkzee gets the ball rolling for Manchester United and knocks it back to Matthijs de Ligt in defence. The visitors attempt to build from the back and use the wide areas to get forward.
Viktoria Plzen vs Man Utd
Here come the teams.
Bruno Fernandes leads out the Manchester United team with the desire and determination in his eyes. Ruben Amorim’s side have lost their last two games but they’ll hope to banish some familiar mistakes tonight.
Rasmus Hojlund knows Man Utd have to improve
Rasmus Hojlund said he felt “quite devastated” after “irritating goals” and a poor all-round display cost Manchester United in the home loss to Nottingham Forest.
Head coach Ruben Amorim this week hit his first bumps in the road having made a positive start to life at Old Trafford, with Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat at Arsenal compounded as they lost 3-2 on Saturday.
Nikola Milenkovic exposed United’s recent set-piece issues by heading Forest ahead inside 90 seconds, with Hojlund levelling during a fightback that ended early in the second half.
We all need to do better – Rasmus Hojlund knows Man Utd have to improve
The Red Devils have lost their last two games.
‘It’s a huge challenge'
“It’s a huge challenge and a chance to compete against a team of such quality,” says Pavel Sulc, who scored in the Czech club’s 2-1 win against Dynamo Kyiv. “At the same time, it’s a boyhood dream come true.”
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