Manchester United scored three late goals to thrash Austrian side LASK 5-0 away from home in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, a match played in an empty stadium.
United were heading for a comfortable win thanks to superb goals either side of half-time from Odion Ighalo and Daniel James, with the former's especially breathtaking, before three goals in the final eight minutes through Juan Mata, Mason Greenwood and Andreas Pereira put the tie beyond doubt.
Honestly Odion Ighalo that is just rude 😍 pic.twitter.com/3BiE4fTXVM
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 12, 2020
Unable to call on any genuine home advantage because of restrictions imposed following the coronavirus outbreak, the current Bundesliga leaders failed to pose any serious threat throughout the 90 minutes.
While LASK undoubtedly suffered from the absence of supporters in their bid to cause a monumental upset, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side seemed totally unaffected by the empty stadium, dominating from the first whistle and ultimately stretching their unbeaten run to 11 matches in all competitions.
But it took a stunning Ighalo strike, his fourth in three United starts since joining the club on loan in January, to break the deadlock.
Bruno Fernandes created space with a deft, flicked pass, which the Nigerian juggled 20 yards from goal before firing in off the underside of the crossbar with his weaker left foot.
It was an incredible goal from a player who only a few short weeks ago was being ridiculed along with the club as the embodiment of just how far ambitions have dwindled at Old Trafford in recent seasons.
👍 Looking good if you followed our Odion Ighalo tip.
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) March 12, 2020
📈 13/5 - Ighalo to score & Man Utd to win at 13/5
📊 5/1 - Ighalo to have 3+ shots on target
🤑 One more on target from the Nigerian AND Utd complete the job & it's double money!
👌They lead 1-0 at half-time against LASK. pic.twitter.com/OtihtwVGvb
A trademark mazy James run down the left led to a deserved second goal just before the hour, as the Welshman cut inside and curled home from the edge of the box for a first goal since way back in August.
With the Bundesliga leaders' spirits already broken, Mata latched on to a superb Fred pass to fire home in the final 10 minutes.
Greenwood then rifled in from a tight angle for his 13th goal in what has turned into an impressive breakthrough season for the teenager, before fellow substitute Pereira caught the LASK keeper unaware from distance to turn the victory into a rout.
Europa League round of 16 results
- Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 FC Basel
- Istanbul Basaksehir 1-0 FC Copenhagen
- LASK 0-5 Manchester United
- Sevilla P-P Roma
- Inter Milan P-P Getafe
- Olympiacos 1-1 Wolves
- Rangers 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
- VfL Wolfsburg 1-2 Shakhtar Donetsk
