Man Utd 4-1 Real Betis: Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst on target as Utd secure big first-leg lead
Match report as Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst all score as Manchester United thrash Betis 4-1 in the Europa League last-16 first leg at Old Trafford; Leicester loanee Ayoze Perez nets visitors’ only goal
Manchester United bounced back from Sunday’s trouncing at Liverpool with Antony’s stunner helping them cement a 4-1 first-leg Europa League last-16 lead over Real Betis.
United did struggle at times against La Liga’s fifth-placed side and were lucky to go in at half-time level after Ayoze Perez, who had already cancelled out Rashford’s opener, hit the post with David De Gea beaten.
But once Antony’s curling effort had restored their advantage, they blew Betis away. Fernandes’ booming header from a corner was too powerful for Claudio Bravo to handle, and Wout Weghorst added a fourth after fine work from substitute Facundo Pallestri.
Antony and Weghorst both missed glorious chances to extend United’s lead further, but Erik ten Hag’s side will still travel to Spain next Thursday in pole position to reach the Europa League quarter-finals.
How Man Utd put one foot in Europa League quarter-finals
Ten Hag named an unchanged side to the one that started at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. This was the team which had got United into their mess, and it was the team which was going to get them out of it.
They certainly enjoyed the perfect start when Marcus Rashford sidestepped his man and smashed in an opener past Bravo with less than six minutes gone, as United threatened to blow Betis away straight out of the traps.
But there were still chinks in the armour of the hosts’ confidence. Leicester loanee Perez placed a low shot back across De Gea and inside the far post to stun Old Trafford on the half-hour mark, and from there United struggled to regain their momentum before half-time.
