Manchester United will be without defender Harry Maguire and midfielder Manuel Ugarte for Thursday’s Europa League last-16 clash with Real Sociedad, coach Ruben Amorim said, as he seeks to salvage an otherwise dire season.

The pair were left out of an already depleted squad after picking up injuries in last weekend’s penalty shootout defeat to Fulham that dumped them out of the FA Cup to compound the misery of lying 14th in the Premier League.

“We are being careful with them because at the moment we cannot afford to lose any more players for a long time,” Amorim told a press conference on Wednesday before the Europa League first leg game in Spain.

“We are taking care of them at Carrington (training ground) and they cannot play this game because it will be a greater risk.”

The coach, who joined United in November, stressed the importance of balancing youth development with the needs of the squad during a worsening injury crisis.

“I’m trying to cope with everything. When I do my squad, I’m trying to think about every aspect, of the formation of the (new) kids, of the squad and not if it will look really well with the fans and the media,” Amorim said.

Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Jonny Evans, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount remain on individual rehabilitation programmes.

Lisandro Martinez, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament, and Amad Diallo, who suffered an ankle ligament injury in training, are also sidelined.

-Reuters

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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes scored a last-gasp winner to secure a 2-1 victory over Rangers in the Europa League group stage on Thursday and Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min struck twice in his team’s 3-2 win at Hoffenheim.

United climbed to fourth in the standings on 15 points going into the last round of matches, in a strong position to reach the knockout phase along with Spurs who are sixth with 14 points.

The English side broke the deadlock early in the second half when Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland misjudged a Christian Eriksen corner, sending the ball into his own net.

Rangers fought back with an equaliser from substitute Cyril Dessers two minutes from time before Fernandes struck in added time to give United all three points.

In Germany, James Maddison opened the scoring for Spurs in the third minute and Son doubled the lead in a first half the visitors dominated.

Hoffenheim pulled one back in the 68th minute through Anton Stach’s counter-attack goal. Son restored Spurs’ two-goal lead in the 77th minute before the hosts’ David Mokwa scored to give his side late hope but the game ended in a narrow win for the English side.

Lazio stayed top of the standings with a commanding 3-1 home victory over Real Sociedad to become the first team to qualify for the round of 16.

Mario Gila struck after five minutes and when Sociedad’s Aihen Munoz was shown a second yellow card on the half-hour mark, Lazio immediately seized the advantage.

Mattia Zaccagni quickly doubled the lead and Taty Castellanos effectively ended the match with a third for the hosts. Ander Barrenetxea scored a late consolation goal for Sociedad.

Eintracht Frankfurt moved closer to securing a top-eight spot with a 2-0 home win over Hungarian side Ferencvaros thanks to second-half goals from Can Uzun and Hugo Ekitike. They are second in the standings with 16 points, three ahead of ninth-placed Galatasaray.

A late goal from Troy Parrott gave AZ Alkmaar a 1-0 home win over AS Roma and Olympiacos earned a 1-0 victory at Porto thanks to a late goal from Ayoub El Kaabi.

Dutch side Alkmaar can still reach the top eight with 11 points sitting in 14th place while Roma’s nine points place them 21st, close to the bottom of the playoff section.

Fenerbahce and Olympique Lyonnais played out an intense goalless draw in Istanbul, leaving the French side in a strong position to progress to fifth place in the group on 14 points.

-Reuters

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Manchester United came from behind to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday and secure their first victory under new manager Ruben Amorim.

United went ahead inside the first minute thanks to a howler from keeper Nikita Haikin, who failed to deal with a back pass and under pressure from Rasmus Hojlund the ball broke free for Alejandro Garnacho to tap in from close range.

The Norwegians scored twice with quick breaks, Hakon Evjen hitting a superb strike into the top corner in the 19th minute and Philip Zinckernagel holding off Tyrell Malacia before beating keeper Andre Onana to stun the Old Trafford crowd.

United equalised just before the break when Noussair Mazraoui’s pass into the area picked out Hojlund who controlled the ball with his first touch before getting a shot away between two defenders into the far corner.

Amorim’s side went ahead five minutes after the break when Manuel Ugarte’s low pass across the area was guided into the net by Hojlund shortly after Mason Mount had hit the crossbar.

United could not find another goal, however, and needed two good saves from Onana to secure the three points which lifted them to 12th in the standings on nine points, ahead of Bodo/Glimt on seven.

“Of course, I see what everybody sees, good moments, difficult moments,” Amorim told TNT Sports.

“There was some confusion in the end trying to hold the result, but the lads did a great job. They ran, they pressed, they tried to do the things we have worked on in the last three days and we won.

Amorim’s first game in charge was a 1-1 draw in the Premier League against Ipswich Town on Sunday.

“Half of the stadium doesn’t know me, I came from Portugal and I did nothing for this club. Yet the way they make me feel at home is special,” he said.

“I will keep this to the end of my career.”

Amorim described the game as a roller-coaster.

“Like a real ride. We started well, but then suffered two goals in two transitions. I like the way the players tried to play our game,” he said.

“Sometimes we won the ball and have had problems in the past giving the ball away too much – the mindset is keeping the ball. They are really trying and I think we deserved the win.”

-Reuters