Fernandes grabs late Manchester United winner to spoil Rangers’ moment of magic | Europa League

Winning is the only cast iron way to control the message in football. So after Ruben Amorim’s recent various rhetorical missteps, this added time was necessary, sixth win in a checkered 16-game Manchester United reign was needed.

After 88 minutes it seemed a long way off when Harry Maguire missed a header, Cyriel Dessers stole in and he equalized with aplomb.

But then Bruno Fernandes’ late strike clinched the points and his winner followed Jack Butland’s odd-fisted strike for an own-goal opener that will haunt the No. 1 for a long time.

Yet again United were a subdued bunch and Scotland’s second-placed team (13 points behind Celtic) should have gone away with a famous draw with England’s record 20-time champions.

Amorim’s men remain unbeaten in the competition and are in the best position to qualify automatically, but his mammoth task remains. The Portuguese’s team is fragile at the back, lacks drive and patterns in midfield, and the attack is phantom-like.

We will next see them at Fulham on Sunday for a 5pm kick-off. 19.00, where Marco Silva’s men can expose all these fault lines.

A recurring poor offering from Amorim is how nervous his players have performed here. This should play like sweet music to the ears of the Rangers, who soon benefited from hard evidence of this.

In a first start in Europe for United (and just a third for the club), Toby Collyer faltered in midfield, lost possession, Hamza Igamane raced forward and Altay Bayindir’s goal was threatened by Ridvan Yilmaz. Other lapses of United cool saw Matthijs de Ligt start the ball straight and later he let a blue shirt in, and when Yilmaz volleyed James Tavernier’s cross, Bayindir’s save was sharper than his team-mates showed.

Speculative shots from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes and an impotent Amad Diallo corner from the right were United’s “best” offerings until a smooth Joshua Zirkzee controlled and spun and ran down the left. Suddenly the Rangers were turned, but when no. 9 crossed, no colleague joked in to meet this.

The same route – United’s left – struck the Scots a second time, through Diogo Dalot, a Garnacho effort was deflected and Diallo’s next corner created the opening – or so Amorim’s men thought.

De Ligt got up and went home, but Leny Yory was adjudged – harshly – by the referee, Erik Lambrechts, for felling Robin Pröpper, so the contest remained complete.

A friendly analysis of United would say they were patient and measuring their enemy as part of a ploy to pick them apart at an opportune moment. A less benevolent will point to a lack of pace, flair, and anyone – Diallo apart, in glimpses – capable of swinging the game the home side’s way.

That was until a crafty Fernandes shimmy that failed the visiting rearguard was followed by a pass that skipped Diallo and his effort saw Jack Butland save. Here a rare chance for the united congregation to stretch the vocal chords.

The 3,000-plus on the away side had far more to cheer about – such as when Tavernier, their captain, slotted home two corners in quick succession, testing Bayindir and his defence.

At the other end, a rare Lisandro Martínez flare on goal saw Butland fly into the air to tip away. It required a corner. Diallo’s delivery again yielded nothing, which was the story in microcosm of United’s first half as the players jogged off for the break and Amorim somehow needed to inject some imagination, an X-factor into a unit that was proving lukewarm. one more time.

A Dalot hoof from near the center circle that went out for a corner was a second-half curtain-raiser that gave little hope of a quality increase. Rangers did not punish the Portuguese for this and neither did Bailey Rice, one of two Philippe Clement substitutions, as he blasted high as he ran in seconds later.

Harry Maguire was Amorim’s switch – for De Ligt – for the second 45 and a first act was to wander into Rangers’ territory for a Christian Eriksen corner and see Butland’s hapless fist back and in, it gave United the lead.

Those in red shirts rushed to the Dane to congratulate him with a deep, menacing parable, while Butland was a portrait of humiliation. Amorim hailed the goal of the removal of Yoro for Tyrell Malacia.

To do so, the smartest way was to operate deep in the enemy’s final third. They did, what a pass and when an Eriksen free-kick from the left fell on Maguire’s head, he should have beaten Butland at close range but the ball skipped wide.

To stiffen United, Amorim introduced Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo – for Eriksen and Collyer – but then Desser’s finish came before Fernandes’ strike.