Man United vs. Rangers final score: Europa League result, stats as late Fernandes strike bags thrilling win

Manchester United are a truly flawed side, but win, lose or draw, they are almost always box office.

That was once again the case as the Red Devils put themselves in pole position for a Round of 16 bye in the Europa League with a thrilling 2-1 win over Rangers at home.

Bruno Fernandes scored a 92nd-minute winner to snatch the three points, just four minutes after it seemed they had blown their advantage.

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A cataclysmic error from Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland saw United in front shortly after halftime, as he punched a corner delivery into his own net.

Yet it seemed that Cyriel Dessers had salvaged a point from nothing as a toothless Rangers, hampered by a number of injuries throughout the 90 minutes, clawed back level in the 88th minute through the striker's sublime turn and shot.

Fernandes' thumping finish put those worries to rest, the United captain powering home Lisandro Martinez's cross in front of the Stretford End to spare the home side's blushes.

It was a gripping 90 minutes throughout as the two sides generated chances and put the goalkeepers to work. Butland was exceptional minus his costly error, while Altay Bayindir made a few good stops himself.

The win put United fourth in the Europa League table, with a Round of 16 bye not yet mathematically clinched but on the horizon with just one game left, against FCSB next week. Rangers, meanwhile, fall to 13th and must secure a result against Union Saint-Gilloise at home to make a late leap.

The Sporting News followed the Man United vs. Rangers match live, providing score updates, commentary.

Man United vs. Rangers final score

Location: Old Trafford (Manchester, England)
Referee: Erik Lambrechts (Belgium)

Starting lineups:

Man United (3-4-2-1, right to left): 1. Altay Bayindir (GK) — 4. Matthijs De Ligt (Maguire, 46'), 15. Leny Yoro (Malacia, 56'), 6. Lisandro Martinez — 20. Diogo Dalot, 43. Tom Collyer (Ugarte, 73'), 14. Christian Eriksen (Mainoo, 73'), 17. Alejandro Garnacho — 16. Amad Diallo, 8. Bruno Fernandes — 11. Joshua Zirkzee (Hojlund, 82').

Rangers (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Jack Butland (GK) — 2. James Tavernier, 4. Robin Propper, 27. Leon Balogun (Rice, 46'), 22. Jefte — 8. Connor Barron (McCausland, 46'), 43. Nicolas Raskin — 18. Vaclav Cerny (Curtis, 59'), 14. Nedim Bajrami (Dessers, 71'), 3. Ridvan Yilmaz (King, 90') — 29. Hamza Igamane.

Man United vs. Rangers stats

Man United vs. Rangers live updates, highlights from Europa League

FULLTIME: Man United 2-1 Rangers

That's the beauty of the Europa League right there! A truly sensational 90 minutes of end-to-end action ends with Manchester United in front thanks to the late Bruno Fernandes thumper.

Rangers appeared to have climbed back into it, but were beaten by a goal worthy of the three points. It was far from a perfect performance by either side, as Man United allowed an injury-stricken Rangers back into the match, and the visitors failing to take their chances at Old Trafford.

In the end, it's Rangers who will rue their mistakes, while Ruben Amorim's side will come away with the spoils.

90+2 min: GOAL! MAN UNITED! WHAT DRAMA! BRUNO FERNANDES HAS PUT MAN UNITED RIGHT BACK IN FRONT AT THE DEATH!

It's a GLORIOUS volley at the far post from Fernandes, who blasts the ball past Jack Butland with ferocity and surely secures three points. An excellent delivery from Lisandro Martinez to his captain's feet.

An absolutely THRILLING game we've seen here!

VIDEO: Watch Bruno Fernandes goal in USA | Watch goal in UK | Watch goal in Canada

88th min: GOAL! RANGERS! CYRIEL DESSERS EQUALIZES AT THE DEATH OUT OF NOTHING!

A speculative ball forward lands at the feet of the Rangers striker and he ferociously finishes past Altay Bayindir! It came from deep in the Rangers half, and Dessers did brilliantly to control the ball behind a hapless Harry Maguire and bury it! That's so poor from Maguire to handle the long ball!

Rangers bring on a young defender Leon King after the goal, hoping to shore things up and secure the point. He replaces Ridvan Yilmaz. Five minutes of stoppage time are shown.

VIDEO: Watch Rangers goal in USA | Watch goal in UK | Watch goal in Canada

87th min: Chance, Man United! Another big save by Jack Butland to again deny Alejandro Garnacho! It's another impressive diving stop by the Rangers man, who has been quite good outside his one critical error.

83rd min: Chance, Rangers! CYRIEL DESSERS HAS HIT THE POST! It's exceptional work by Altay Bayindir, who smothers the chance and forces the Rangers striker to go for the chip. He gets it over the goalkeeper but the ball comes off the post and goes harmlessly wide!

Replays show Dessers may have indeed been leaning just offside, so in the end it may not have counted anyways.

Rasmus Hojlund comes on to replace Joshua Zirkzee up front for United to give them a fresh outlet amidst the late Rangers pressure.

80th min: Chance, Man United! WHAT A SAVE BY JACK BUTLAND TO DENY MANUEL UGARTE!

Jefte is the first player booked in the game, conceding a free-kick to United from a dangerous position. It's swung in to Ugarte who directs a powerful headed effort on net, but Butland reacts impressively to keep it out! That's one way to atone for the earlier error!

78th min: Amad Diallo gets free on goal but blasts it miles over the crossbar. A poor finish when he probably had time to sort out a less difficult attempt.

74th min: A bobbling ball falls to Jefte atop the United penalty area, and he rips a volley on net, but it's right at Altay Bayindir who makes the stop. That effort had an extremely high degree of difficulty, and it's impressive that Jefte was even able to get it on frame with some dip, but it was ultimately never troubling the United goalkeeper due to the central placement of the shot.

73rd min: It's clear that a slew of injuries have sapped the Rangers side of its cutting edge displayed early in the game. They don't look capable of troubling United at this point, as the hosts are now beginning to muck up the game and kill off the final 15 minutes.

United make two more substitutions, with Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte enter in midfield to replace Eriksen and Collyer. Rangers, meanwhile, replace Bajrami with Cyriel Dessers.

66th min: Chance, Man United! Harry Maguire heads wide from a set-piece! It's another massive missed opportunity from the Red Devils, who are ahead but only just and continue to waste chances!

Christian Eriksen sends a lovely free-kick to the far post and Maguire beats his man, latching on from three yards out but failing to hit the target.

61st min: Chance, Man United! Alejandro Garnacho HAS to score, but it's blocked by Robin Propper on the line! He is all alone from eight yards out in a central position, but as he beats the goalkeeper with a shot to the right edge of the goal mouth, Propper heads it away expertly!

59th min: There's yet another injury to deal with here, as the fitness concerns are piling up for both sides. Rangers are forced to bring off the dangerous Vaclav Cerny, who limps off with what looks to be a right leg issue of some kind. He's replaced by 18-year-old Findlay Curtis, knowing one of their top scorers this season has been forced off.

55th min: Man United make a change as Tyrell Malacia replaces Leny Yoro. The Red Devils have been very careful with the young defender as he returns from a long-term injury, but being replaced before the hour mark is a worrying sign. Yoro doesn't appear injured, but he does walk slowly around the touchline back to his bench.

52nd min: GOAL! MAN UNITED! OH NO, JACK BUTLAND HAS PUNCHED THE BALL INTO HIS OWN NET!

The former Man United goalkeeper tried to clear a corner from Christian Eriksen, but he's swung wildly at the ball near the top of the six-yard box and directs it into his own net! A horrible error!

VIDEO: Watch Man United goal in USA | Watch goal in UK | Watch goal in Canada

52nd min: Chance, Man United! Another unlucky moment for Man United as a cut shot by Bruno Fernandes on goal is blocked by a defender, and only just ends up looping over the crossbar!

2nd half kickoff: As the second half gets under way, there are changes for both sides to chew on.

For Manchester United, Ruben Amorim has brought Harry Maguire on for Matthijs de Ligt, which seems possibly due to injury as the tactical benefit of such would be odd.

Rangers are replacing Connor Barron, who is certainly withdrawn due to injury, replaced by Ross McCausland, while Leon Balogun was also hauled off and replaced by Bailey Rice.

HALFTIME: Man United 0-0 Rangers

It's scoreless in name only at the break, as both goalkeepers had big moments and neither side managed to generate the required moment of magic.

It was a thrilling first 45 minutes, with waves of attacking pressure from both clubs. Rangers were under significant pressure throughout the half, but did manage to break forward on the counter to create their own chances as well.

No goals from a combined 13 shots worth 1.57 xG between the two sides at halftime, indicating we could be in for a few come the second half. It's hard to imagine either side being held off the scoresheet much longer! Stay tuned.

42nd min: Chance, Man United! Lisandro Martinez crops up in an advanced position and produces a vicious left-footed stinger, but Jack Butland is yet again up to the task and parries it over the crossbar!

There's a problem for Rangers in the aftermath, as Connor Barron is down needing treatment after a 50/50 challenge with Tom Collyer in midfield. He kicked the ball hard at exactly the same time as Collyer, and appears to have injured his knee in the process.

38th min: Chance, Rangers! A shot from Hamza Igamane takes a massive deflection off Lisandro Martinez, and it takes a quality diving stop from Altay Bayindir to keep the effort out! The deflection threatened to wrong-foot the Man United goalkeeper but he was right on top of it!

This is a gripping game at the moment!

36th min: Chance, Man United! Amad Diallo forces a big save from Jack Butland! The former Rangers loanee takes aim from the top-right corner of the six-yard box, but is turned away as his shot was too close to the goalkeeper! A big chance!

Moments later, it's worked back around to the left, and Joshua Zirkzee has a dangerous effort blocked! Man United are cooking at the moment!

34th min: While they've not generated any dangerous chances since the ruled out goal, Man United have dominated this match over the last 15 minutes. Rangers were threatening on the counter early, but have sunk back into a low block and not managed to trouble the hosts much at all.

This is a good performance from United thus far, especially since the first 15-20 minutes where Rangers looked a threat.

24th min: Chance, Man United! Manchester United have the ball in the back of the net off a corner, as Matthijs de Ligt heads it in, but it's been ruled out for a foul!

Leny Yoro appears to have spilled Rangers defender Robin Propper with a push in the back, but that feels weak to call while ruling out a goal! Manchester United so unlucky not to have the opener, Propper's gone down so easily!

23rd min: Chance, Man United! Alejandro Garnacho fires over the crossbar! Looks like it was deflected over by a defender, which was key because it was blazing towards goal!

11th min: Now Rangers have another effort on goal, but this one is parried by Altay Bayindir from a tight angle. It was always going to be difficult to score from there.

9th min: Chance, Rangers! The first opportunity of the game falls to the visitors as Rangers picked up possession in midfield and broke the United lines with a gorgeous vertical ball from deep by James Tavernier! Unfortunately for the Scottish side, Nicolas Raskin slipped as he went to shoot and was smothered by Altay Bayindir!

7th min: The two teams have been cautious thus far. United are holding most of the possession so far, with Rangers sitting deep and looking to counter. The visitors have had a few chances to get forward on the ball but have been stopped in their tracks.

Kickoff: They're under way at the famous Old Trafford ground! A critical top-eight matchup in the Europa League will set the stage for the final day of league phase matches next week.

Man United vs. Rangers: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more

15 mins to kickoff: A last-minute update from Manchester United has seen Noussair Mazraoui withdrawn from his place amongst the substitutes due to a precaution after reportedly suffering a knock in the Brighton game.

30 mins to kickoff: Visiting players are completing their walkthroughs on the Old Trafford pitch. It's getting closer to kickoff!

Rangers’ players going for a walk. pic.twitter.com/kMGI3eaMmd

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) January 23, 2025

45 mins to kickoff: While much of the narrative around Manchester United this season has been negative given their poor overall performances and results, there are a few bright spots. One of them is new defensive signing Leny Yoro, who was snatched up from Lille last summer at just 19 years old.

After missing the bulk of the first few months due to injury, the French youth international has been exceptional, and is being rewarded by Ruben Amorim with more playing time lately. He has started each of the last two Premier League games, and now earns his first Europa League appearance of the season as well.

It can sometimes be hard to judge talent that arrives from a top-heavy league such as France's Ligue 1, but Yoro looks to be a quality addition early on.

Leny Yoro, Sven Botman, Benoit Badiashile — and now #MCFC's Abdukodir Khusanov.

When Premier League clubs go shopping for defenders, they tend to cast their net in Ligue 1 — but why?@jwhitey98 and @LiamTharmeCoach explain.

🔗 https://t.co/zsyCkk2pP0 pic.twitter.com/UA432EJ5qQ

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) January 21, 2025

1 hour to kickoff: Lineups are in, and there are some surprises from Ruben Amorim, who hands 21-year-old midfielder Toby Collyer a start with Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro both on the bench. Alejandro Garnacho is in the starting lineup too despite rumors of an exit, playing wing-back, while Lenny Yoro starts at the back.

For Rangers, it's mostly as expected, with Leon Balogun getting the start at center-back over Clinton Nsiala with John Souttar out injured.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Elsewhere in the Europa League, Tottenham lead Hoffenheim on the road by a 2-0 score at halftime.

This is a very important score to keep an eye on, as a win for Spurs jumps both these sides into a top eight position. It means only three points will guarantee United to keep hold of a Round of 16 bye, while Rangers are already on the outside looking in entering the match.

Another score to keep track of is Anderlecht, who sit fifth at the moment but trail at Viktoria Plzen 2-0 at the break. A loss there would give both United and Rangers a chance to gain ground with victory today.

Heung-Min Son with a deflected strike to make it count for Spurs💥 pic.twitter.com/9yDKQ0loQJ

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 23, 2025

1 hour 30 mins to kick: It will be fascinating to see if Alejandro Garnacho is deployed today by Ruben Amorim in European action. The Man United youngster has never been able to nail down a starting role at the club, and there are reports that he could be sold this winter, with the club looking to secure funds in the ongoing battle with PSR regulations.

It would be quite the decision for United to sell one of the club's three promising young attacking stars. With Amad Diallo flourishing and Kobbie Mainoo on a strong developmental track, keeping Garnacho would seem like a positive step towards building a future roster. But if the club prioritizes the need for incoming funds, it sounds as though the Argentine could be sacrificed.

Will he stay in the Premier League and join a club like Chelsea, or will he move abroad with Napoli reportedly in the mix?

1 hour 45 mins to kick: Rangers have a decision to make at striker, as Cyriel Dessers is rumored to be leaving the club. The 30-year-old has 16 goals in 33 appearances across all competitions this season, but has seemingly lost his starting place to Hamza Igamane up front.

Dessers hasn't had a great season from a finishing perspective despite the volume, and reports claim he's being courted by a number of Italian clubs.

2 hours to kickoff: This match represents a full-circle moment for young Amad Diallo who has blossomed into a Manchester United prodigy in the last few months. His last-gasp hat-trick against Southampton a week ago was one for the history books, turning around an embarrassing 1-0 deficit and converting a 3-1 victory in epic fashion.

Amad was considered a flop at Rangers after being sent out on loan exactly three years ago for the second half of the 2021/22 season. He managed to earn just 10 league appearances, scoring three goals, while coming up empty in his three domestic cup matches.

Now, he will hope to bury his former club and prove he was unfairly judged as he continues to provide a rare shining light amidst an otherwise miserable season for United.

Europa League table, league phase standings

Man United vs. Rangers lineups, team news

Mason Mount participated in their last game in this competition, but he is still not ready to return from yet another muscle issue sustained since. Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, and Jonny Evans also remain out of action.

Rasmus Hojlund remains on the bench despite five goals in six games in Europe this season, with Joshua Zirkzee deployed up front. Lisandro Martinez starts in defence after sitting out the Brighton loss, alogside young Lenny Yoro who has impressed. Christian Eriksen may come into midfield to give Kobbie Mainoo a break, with young Toby Collyer also a surprise selection.

Amorim gives Altay Bayindir his first Europa League start in goal after impressing in peripheral domestic competitions. Andre Onana's awful mistake against Brighton has seen the regular No. 1 taken out of the firing line.

Man United starting lineup (3-4-2-1): Bayindir (GK) — De Ligt, Yoro, L. Martinez — Dalot, Collyer, Eriksen, Garnacho — Amad Diallo, Fernandes — Zirkzee.

Man United subs (10): Heaton (GK), Onana (GK), Maguire, Malacia, Casemiro, Mainoo, Ugarte, Antony, Hojlund.

The big loss for Rangers is midfielder Mohamed Diomande, who is suspended thanks to his third booking of the league phase against Spurs last time out.

Goalkeeper Jack Butland will is fit to face his former club, but John Souttar and Dujon Sterling are out due to injury along with Oscar Cortes and Danilo, while Tom Lawrence recovers enough to make the bench. Striker Cyriel Dessers has been nothing more than a bench option to spare Hamza Igamane and thus has been linked with a winter exit.

Rangers starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Butland (GK) — Tavernier, Propper, Balogun, Jefte — Barron, Raskin — Cerny, Bajrami, Ridvan — Igamane.

Rangers subs (12): Kelly (GK), Munn (GK), Dowell, King, McCausland, Lawrence, Rice, Lovelace, Curtis, Nsio, Hutton, Dessers.

Man United vs. Rangers live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions: