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Manchester United snatched a point as they secured an extremely late draw in the Europa League vs. Porto.
United raced to a two-goal advantage before the half-hour mark, as Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund both beat Diogo Costa at his near post.
However, the Reds couldn’t hang on and crumbled immediately after Pepe halved the deficit just seven minutes after Hojlund’s goal.
Samu Omorodion would go on to restore parity before the break, as he beat Matthijs de Ligt in the air to head in a superb cross. Omorodion got the better of De Ligt once again after half time, when he reacted the quickest to convert another ball into the box.
After going ahead, Porto gained control of the game and were largely cruising, with United struggling to break them down. It looked like the Liga Portugal giants were headed for a big win but substitute Harry Maguire had other ideas. In the dying embers of the match, the defender found the back of the net with a headed finish to ensure the spoils were shared between the two teams.
While Maguire guaranteed that United did not suffer a loss, the team’s best performer was undoubtedly Rashford.
In addition to his goal, Rashford also set up Hojlund for the Dane’s strike. The winger was on the pitch only for the duration of the first half as he was peculiarly substituted at the interval and replaced by Alejandro Garnacho.
During the time he featured, Rashford had 30 touches of the ball to his name. He also successfully found his teammates with 16 of the 19 passes he attempted, managing an individual pass completion rate of 84%. One of his passes was a key pass.
He created one big chance.
The 26-year-old registered two total shots. One -for his goal – required Costa to swing into action. The other was off-target.
Rashford embarked on three dribbles and completed all of them. He delved into four ground duels, coming out on top on all four occasions.
The Carrington academy graduate was not required to contest any challenges in the air.
He made one clearance and put in as many tackles.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
United fans will certainly be hoping that Rashford’s display vs. Porto spurs him on to perform even better in the upcoming games.
Feature image Octavio Passos via Getty Images
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2024-10-03 21:42:43
