Manchester United claim 1st European away win in 20 months
Manchester United registered their first away win in Europe since March 2023, beating Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in matchweek six of the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 season. The match, played on a cold Thursday night in Bohemia, witnessed Rasmus Hojlund as the game-changer for United. He was substituted in for Marcus Rashford and made the desired impact. Manchester United's last away win in Europe was against Real Betis in March 2023 under former manager Erik ten Hag.
Hojlund's brace secures victory for Manchester United
After a goalless first half, the game was tilted toward Viktoria Plzen initially as former Burnley striker Matej Vydra capitalized on Andre Onana's mistake to hand his side the lead in the 48th minute. However, Hojlund's introduction changed the game for United. He first leveled the score at 1-1 with some superb work from Amad Diallo. The winning goal came two minutes before stoppage time as a clever Bruno Fernandes free-kick allowed Hojlund to score past Plzen goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka.
Points table and match stats
The win over Viktoria Plzen took Manchester United to fifth at the moment in the 36-team table. United own three wins and three draws from six matches with 12 points under their belt. They have scored 12 times and let in eight goals. Meanwhile, Viktoria Plzen have dropped to 15th. In terms of match stats, United managed eight attempts on target from 17 shots. They had 39 touches in the opponent's box to Plzen's 26. United owned 69% ball possession.
Amorim joins a unique club
As per Opta, Ruben Amorim is the third Manchester United manager to win both of his first two games in major European competition in charge of the club, along with Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Fernandes excels for United who end Plzen's unbeaten home run
Fernandes' assist for Hojlund's winning goal was the seventh chance he created in against Viktoria Plzen. Notably, it's the third time he has created 7+ chances in a major European match for the Red Devils. The defeat against United saw Viktoria Plzen's 12-match home unbeaten run in European competition (including qualifiers) come to an end. United are now the first side to beat the Czech club on home soil since Barcelona in November 2022.
Hojlund races to 10 European goals for United; Fernandes shines
In 60 matches for United, Hojlund now owns 23 goals in all competitions, including 7 this season. This was his 10th goal in Europe for the Red Devils. He scored five goals in the Champions League last season and now owns 5 in the Europa League this term. Fernandes registered his 10th assist in all competitions this season, including two in the Europa League.
