Manchester United concede late equaliser to give Anderlecht hope in Europa League tie

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Manchester United conceded a late equalizer yesterday to give Anderlecht hope as they head into the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho shuffled his pack and made three changes to the side that beat Sunderland on Sunday.

Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia and Marcus Rashford all came into the starting 11 at the expense of Luke Shaw, Fellaini and Ander Herrera.

Young striker Rashford formed part of a threatening line-up with Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all provided attacking outlets.

Rashford particularly impressed and could be found all over the pitch, chasing balls over the top and drifting out wide to terrorise Anderlecht’s defence.

United’s imposing strikeforce did not take long to stamp their authority and Lingard struck a post after Ibrahimvoic had been denied from close range.

It was a warning sign to the hosts and one they did not heed as Mourinho’s men found a way through shortly after the half-hour mark.

Ruben Martinez stopped Rashford’s initial attempt but Mkhitaryan was lurking to prod the loose ball home from an acute angle.

Manchester United deserved that lead and went in at half-time wondering if they could have been out of sight at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.

Anderlecht really needed to get themselves on the scoresheet to take some momentum into the return leg in England next week.

It was an improved performance from the home side in the second period as they probed through the exciting Frank Acheampong.

However, Michael Carrick was a calming presence in the midfield engine room for United and kept things ticking over with nice touches and passes.