Owen Hargreaves believes that Real Sociedad players were caught off guard by Daniel James and his pace in Manchester United’s 4-0 victory.
Bruno Fernandes scored on both sides of the first half, with Marcus Rashford and James also scoring for the visiting team in Turin.
It was a direct first leg for United, with Sociedad barely threatening Dean Henderson’s goal over the 90 minutes, and James added a little sparkle to the score in added time, catching the ball on the right flank and advancing towards the goal before to score for the goal.
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“His pace, his willingness to go for it, I think Sociedad’s defenders couldn’t believe how fast he was,” said the former United midfielder about BT Sport. “They probably thought they would catch up with him and, in Spain, someone can get it right or cross it, but he was too fast.
“I think Ole played very well, I think he was the perfect player. He knew that Sociedad would have a lot of ball, they played a high line, so there will be room to run, be it Mason Greenwood – who probably had a very smooth game for his level. Bruno had an impact, Rashford had an impact and Dan James had an impact.
“You want your players to affect the game and I think Dan James played an incredible game in many ways. He tracks a lot what I think is very important in Europe away from home. Credit to Ole, he made the perfect plan today . ”
The 23-year-old was twice at United in the Champions League group campaign and it looks like it could be a big part of Solskjaer’s plans for the Europa League.
Manchester United’s campaign in European competition started again with a bang, beating Real Sociedad 4-0 in the Europa League first leg, 32 games.
United have one foot in the round of 16 before the second leg, while now shifting their focus to Newcastle at home in the Premier League on Sunday.
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He had an earlier offside attack after Mason Greenwood found himself in front of the last defender before pointing the ball at his teammate.
The Welsh international provided assistance for Fernandes’ second goal before scoring for the end of the match.