March 14, (THEWILL) – Bruno Fernandes led Manchester United to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals with a hat-trick in their 4-1 win over Real Sociedad at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The comprehensive victory resulted in a 5-2 aggregate score, setting up a quarter-final clash with Lyon.
The Spanish side initially took the lead through Mikel Oyazabal’s penalty in the 14th minute after VAR confirmed Matthijs de Ligt’s foul.
United responded promptly when Fernandes converted from the spot six minutes later following Rasmus Hojlund being brought down by Igor Zubeldia.
Ruben Amorim’s team dominated after the interval, with Fernandes scoring his second from another penalty in the 50th minute after Patrick Dorgu was fouled by Aritz Elustondo.
Real Sociedad’s difficulties increased when Jon Aramburu received a red card for a last-man challenge, leaving them with 10 men for the remainder of the match.
The Portuguese midfielder completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute, finishing clinically into the bottom-left corner after being played through by Alejandro Garnacho.
Diogo Dalot added a fourth goal in the closing moments, firing into the roof of the net from Hojlund’s cutback to complete the rout.
United controlled the second leg with authority, turning around their narrow first-leg advantage into a convincing victory.
The result maintains their European campaign and bolsters confidence under Amorim’s management heading into the quarter-final round.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
