Manchester United Triumphs in Europa League Thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ Performance

Last Thursday at Old Trafford, Manchester United put in a commanding performance to beat quality Real Betis side 4-1 in the Europa League round-of-16 first-leg. Despite the snow falling at the venue, Marcus Rashford and Ayoze Perez got the scoring going in the first half. In the second half, United increased the pressure as Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst all found the net to give them a nice cushion for the return leg at the Benito Villamarin Stadium on March 16.

Manager Erik ten Hag went with the same starting line-up from Sunday's 7-0 Premier League defeat by Liverpool, and United, who had eliminated Barcelona in the previous round, were all too aware of their history of Spanish opposition ending their European involvement in all five of their recent campaigns.

But the United manager, who was in need of a response, found it when Fernandes fed Rashford the ball in the penalty area and the England international swiftly cut to his right and fired his shot into the net to put United 1-0 up inside 10 minutes.

Manchester United had a crystal clear dominance in the opening minutes of their match with Real Betis, with Wout Weghorst having two great chances to double their lead before the 20th minute mark. Unfortunately for them, goalkeeper Bravo was able to save his first effort, and his second flashed just wide of the near post from a Luke Shaw pass.

Despite their command of the game, they were brought back to level terms in the 32nd minute as Ayoze Perez unleashed a low shot that was beyond the reach of David De Gea to make it 1-1. However, an unbearable pass from De Gea almost gifted Betis the lead just before the break, but they were saved as Perez's deflected effort from a tight angle crashed off the post and preserved the scoreline of 1-1.

Ten Hag's team started the second half in the same manner as they did in the first, quickly going up 3-1 thanks to goals from Antony and Fernandes in a six-minute span.

Fernandes made an immediate impact on Thursday night as he helped Manchester United to a 3-0 advantage in their Europa League Round of 16 tie against Real Betis. The Portuguese playmaker created the opener, picking out Antony on the right side of the penalty area. The Brazilian then drilled an unstoppable effort past the helpless Bravo. Fernandes then got his name on the scoresheet with a near-post header from Shaw's corner.

As Betis searched for a way back into the match, Bravo saved McTominay's effort, only for the ball to fall kindly to Weghorst and the Dutchman made no mistake from inside the area.

United now look forward to a home Premier League match against Southampton on Sunday, while Betis face a tough away trip to Villarreal.