Manchester United clinched their first win of the 2023/24 Champions League campaign tonight in emphatic fashion.
In one of their poorer first halves of the season, the Reds came dangerously close to conceding early doors against Copenhagen when the woodwork was clattered by the travelling side.
After a lacklustre showing, the referee called for the interval with 15 seconds to spare – maybe to stop himself from dozing off on the job. Erik ten Hag then took the opportunity to make his first change that saw Christian Eriksen on to replace Sofyan Amrabat.
When the Reds came back out, you’d hope that they’d had a rollicking off the manager. Tonight was a must-win and with how things were going, progression from Group A was looking increasingly difficult as every minute passed.
That was until Harry Maguire sparked a moment of magic; he headed home in the 72nd minute to send Old Trafford into hysterics and give United the lead. If there was one player who deserved to find the winning goal on a night like tonight, it was definitely him.
Late drama in injury time
In the fourth minute of injury time, Scott McTominay gave away a penalty – for the second consecutive game – for a high boot in the box. The United bench and home fans could only watch on with their hearts in their mouths as Jordan Larsson lined up the spot-kick, before it went on to strike the hand of Andre Onana.
The Cameroonian’s heroics again sent the stadium into uproar and would’ve done wonders for his confidence after a shaky start to life in M16.
A crucial European win on the night that the Theatre of Dreams paid tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton. Sometimes the script just writes itself.
