Alejandro Garnacho scored his maiden Manchester United goal, but a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad wasn’t enough to keep them from finishing second in their Europa League group and facing a play-off against a team that had dropped out of the Champions League.
The Argentine gave another glimpse of his promise in just his second start for the club, following his full debut in last week’s win over Sheriff Tiraspol, with a superbly taken goal in the 17th minute at the Reala Stadium.
With a perfectly weighted pass, Cristiano Ronaldo picked out the run of the 18-year-old surging inside off the left flank. Garnacho took the ball in stride before finishing emphatically into the near post roof of the net.
The teenager had a chance for a second goal soon after, but he slipped as he shot and sent his effort high over the bar after cutting in on his right foot after being found in a similar position.
United, like in their 1-0 Premier League victory over West Ham on Sunday, were grateful to David de Gea for keeping their lead. Shortly before halftime, the goalkeeper made an outstanding double save, diving at full stretch to get one hand on a dipping strike from Andoni Gorosabel before quickly recovering and blocking Pablo Marin’s follow-up effort over the crossbar with his head.
While the scoreline favoured the home team, they had the better chances to score after halftime as they continued to push men forward.
In contrast, the visitors failed to muster a single shot on target, allowing Real Sociedad to finish first on goal differential and advance to the last 16 of a European competition for the first time in 20 years.
The Red Devils will now face a knockout round play-off against one of the eight UEFA Champions League group stage third-place finishers: AFC Ajax, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, FC Salzburg, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Sporting CP.
