Bruno Fernandez stole the show with a hat-trick as Manchester United stormed into the Europa League quarter-finals, thrashing Real Sociedad 4-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday night to seal a 5-2 aggregate victory.
The visitors stunned the home crowd just 10 minutes into the game when Mikel Oyarzabal coolly converted a well-placed penalty, giving Real Sociedad an early lead.
However, United responded swiftly, with Fernandez leveling the score from the penalty spot in the 16th minute. Despite several chances at both ends, the first half ended 1-1.
After the break, the Red Devils came out firing, and Fernandez once again stepped up to put them in front, scoring another penalty in the 50th minute to make it 2-1.
Sociedad’s hopes of a comeback took a huge blow when Aramburu J. was shown a red card, reducing the Spanish side to 10 men.
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Fernandez then completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute, finishing off a well-executed counter-attack to extend United’s lead to 3-1.
The rout was completed in stoppage time when Diogo Dalot found the back of the net in the 90+1 minute, sealing a dominant 4-1 victory on the night.
With the emphatic win, Ruben Amorim’s men booked their place in the Europa League quarter-finals, keeping their hopes of silverware alive this season.