Rio Ferdinand gushes over two Manchester United stars after “wonderful” moment vs Rangers

Rio Ferdinand has been gushing over two Manchester United players following a “wonderful” moment against Rangers in the Europa League.

Manchester United secured a dramatic victory against Rangers as captain Bruno Fernandes struck a last-gasp winner to claim all three Europa League points on a tense Thursday night at Old Trafford.

The opening 45 minutes were a cautious affair, with both sides struggling to find rhythm. Matthijs de Ligt had the ball in the net from a corner, but the goal was controversially disallowed for a foul in the build-up.

United had chances through Amad and Joshua Zirkzee, while Rangers threatened on occasion, but neither team could find the breakthrough before the interval.

The deadlock was broken in the second half when Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland, a former United player, inadvertently punched a Christian Eriksen corner into his own net, handing United the lead.

Alejandro Garnacho came agonisingly close to doubling the advantage, striking the post with a curling effort. However, Rangers seemed to snatch a late point when Cyriel Dessers rifled home an equaliser with just minutes remaining.

United, though, had the final word. In stoppage time, Lisandro Martínez delivered a sublime cross, and Fernandes finished with precision to secure a hard-fought victory for Rúben Amorim’s side.

Ferdinand gushing over two United stars vs Rangers

Reacting to the result on Thursday evening, former United defender Rio Ferdinand took his time to single out two United players who contributed to a “wonderful” winning goal at Old Trafford.

When reviewing highlights of the game, Ferdinand explained just how fantastic Martínez’s cross for the winning goal was, while club captain Fernandes’ finish was something to be in awe of.

“What a ball from Lisandro Martinez. He puts the ball into a danger area and it’s a wonderful finish,” Ferdinand explained after the final whistle.

In terms of delivering moments, this guy [Bruno Fernandes] steps up time and time again for this football club.”

Fernandes delivers a captain’s performance

United have not had a fantastic start to life under Amorim, with the club failing to win seven of their last eleven fixtures.

However, Fernandes stepped up when he was needed on Thursday evening and may hope that his goal may trigger a more positive vibe at United.

“I know how much it means for the fans to win games,” he explained to TNT Sports after the result. “You really want to win games.

“We are a little bit frustrated because we started the year well here with two great games against Liverpool and Arsenal then Southampton we had good resilience but didn’t play good football. We had the game with Brighton which didn’t go for us.

“We want to get through the Europa League and get to the final in Bilbao. We want to get top eight so we don’t have to play two more games.”

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.