Football writer Adrian Clarke analyses Thursday's UEFA Europa League matches for Premier League clubs.
Fernandes decides Battle of Britain
Manchester United 2-1 Rangers
On his 50th UEFA Europa League appearance, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes broke Rangers’ hearts with a tremendous 92nd-minute volley - a winning goal that puts his side in pole position to claim a top-eight finish.
Sprinting onto Lisandro Martinez’s excellent cross, sneaking around the back undetected, the Portuguese playmaker’s unerring strike was his ninth goal of the campaign.
Just moments earlier, Rangers thought they had earned a precious Old Trafford point.
Latching onto a long ball from James Tavernier, that evaded Harry Maguire, substitute Cyriel Dessers conjured up a superb first touch, before driving the sweetest of half volleys into the bottom corner.
It was the Gers’ first goal against the Red Devils in major European competition at the fifth attempt.
Ruben Amorim’s side were not especially fluid, but they had taken a deserved 52nd-minute lead, when Jack Butland punched a Christian Eriksen corner into his own net.
That gift from the former United loanee, who never made an appearance for the club, was the precursor for a rollercoaster second-half ride.
From a tactical perspective it was interesting to see Eriksen start as the right-sided No 10, and he linked neatly with Amad throughout.
This tweak meant Fernandes dropped into an orthodox central midfield spot alongside 21-year-old Toby Collyer.
On his first European appearance, Collyer produced 51 passes, with an impressive accuracy of 94.1 per cent.
No other United player since 2003/04 has bettered that on their first Old Trafford start in Europe.
On a more worrying note, centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro were both substituted with injuries before the hour mark.
Philippe Clement’s visitors did have their moments, firing seven shots on target, one more than the hosts.
But in truth, United should have scored more themselves. Alejandro Garnacho was denied twice, Maguire missed a sitter, and De Ligt saw a near post header harshly disallowed from a corner by VAR.
In the end it didn’t matter, as English clubs extended their unbeaten run against Scottish teams to 20 matches in major European competition.
Fernandes’ late winner also meant Amorim was able to claim a third straight Europa League success.
Only two United managers have enjoyed victories in their first three European fixtures, so he joins an exclusive club alongside Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, who achieved their feats in 1956 and 1990 respectively.
A point from their final league phase match away to Romanian side FCSB next Thursday should be enough to ensure they qualify automatically for the last 16.
Son steps up to settle a topsy-turvy encounter
Hoffenheim 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur’s strengths and weaknesses were on full display as they edged a chaotic five-goal thriller in Germany.
For the opening 30 minutes, Ange Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged side playing stylishly and with a swagger.
Spurs dominated the Bundesliga side, racing into a two-goal lead as they moved the ball around with confidence in an attacking 4-1-4-1 formation.
James Maddison ran onto a superb long pass from Pedro Porro, exposing Hoffenheim’s high line with a fantastic burst from deep.
His silky touch and rasping finish after just two minutes and 57 seconds, was their fastest goal in the competition for almost a decade.
Son Heung-min doubled their advantage midway through the first period with a deflected effort, after being sent clear on the counter by Maddison.
However, they soon allowed Hoffenheim a route back in.
They were too open, and slack marking inside the box was a common theme.
This meant stand-in goalkeeper Brandon Austin, on just his second first-team start, was called into action more frequently than Postecoglou would have liked.
The German side mustered 22 attempts in total, profiting from space afforded to them in the wide areas.
Consequently, they sent 41 crosses into the box.
Hoffenheim pulled a goal back from one of those on 68 minutes, when Anton Stach turned in a right-wing cross.
Two minutes from time, David Mokwa headed home another delivery from out wide, but by this stage Spurs had already added a third.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s interception released 17-year-old Mikey Moore from a turnover, who in turn found Son who beat his man with a stepover before finding the bottom corner with a rasping left-foot shot.
It was a great moment for the South Korean on his 436th outing for the club, a milestone that makes him the 10th-highest appearance maker in Spurs’ history.
Posetcoglou ended the night with five teenagers on the pitch, introducing 17-year-old midfielder Callum Olusesi for his debut late on. He joined Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Moore and Will Lankshear as the north Londoners held on for the win.
With one match left to play, Spurs are now sixth in the table on 14 points.
To reach the last 16 without featuring in the playoff round, they must beat Swedish side Elfsborg at home next Thursday.
