deutant rashford helps rampant united past midtjylland published: thursday 25 february 2016, 23.00cet manchester united 5-1 midtjylland (agg: 6-3) marcus rashford scored twice in his first ever senior appearance as united came from behind to steamroller the danish visitors. by tom kell from old trafford
debutant marcus rashford scores twice as manchester united beat midtjylland 5-1 danish side, 2-1 winners last week, go in front but end up overwhelmed united rampant for much of second half and cement win with two late goals apply for tickets for the uefa europa league final at basel's st. jakob-park the round of 16 draw takes place on friday, streamed live from 13.00cet
they did it the hard way, but manchester united are into the uefa europa league last 16 thanks to a 5-1 defeat of midtjylland at old trafford.
beaten 2-1 in herning last week, louis van gaal's men fell further behind on home turf but reacted superbly and ultimately ran out 6-3 aggregate victors. nineteen-year-old marcus rashford, only starting due to anthony martial's injury in the warm-up and making his first ever senior appearance, was the hero with two second-half goals.
ıt had all looked so different when midtjylland opened the scoring on 28 minutes, pione sisto showing splendid poise in the penalty area before firing low across sergio romero.
that did little to stem the hosts, on the front foot previously – debutant rashford was first to warm mikkel andersen's palms and jesse lingard also went close – and were defiant even after falling behind.
memphis depay gave the visiting defence a torrid time throughout and was key to united's equaliser, nikolay bodurov inadvertently turning the dutchman's cross from the byline into his own net.
ıf united were on top prior to that, they were now positively rampant. morgan schneiderlin went within a whisker with an overhead kick and headed against a post before juan mata's spot kick was saved. midtjylland, somehow, went in at half-time still ahead on aggregate.
schneiderlin and ander herrera could both have levelled the tie within five minutes of the resumption, but united had to bide their time. rashford came up trumps, side-footing juan mata's cutback past andersen from close range.
he completed the turnaround – and a remarkable night for himself – when he ghosted in at the back post to turn in guillermo varela's cross. herrera's late spot kick and memphis's even later shot were the icing on the cake.
fairy-tale for rashford a week ago, marcus rashford's name was barely known beyond those familiar with the united youth setup. on wednesday, there were whispers he might be in the squad for the visit of midtjylland. then he was named on the bench. then came martial's injury, two debut goals and a night he will never, ever forget.
turning point united, not exactly brimming with confidence, shorn of so many players and packed to the brim with inexperience, could so easily have buckled after goiong behind. the home crowd, though, chanted defiantly even before sisto had finished celebrating and their team responded immediately and never looked back.
magic from memphis united's summer signing from psv eindhoven made a fast start to life at old trafford but was largely peripheral over the turn of the year – indeed last week's game in herning was his first start since 26 december. he was electric back on home turf, however, and tormented the midtjylland defence throughout. a good omen for val gaal for the rest of the season.
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