Ruben Amorim ‘proud’ of Patrick Dorgu’s honesty to overturn Man United penalty in Europa League
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Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes celebrates scoring his third goal.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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LONDON – Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim hailed the sportsmanship of Patrick Dorgu, after the Danish fullback told the referee he had made a mistake in awarding the Red Devils a penalty in the 4-1 Europa League win over Real Sociedad on March 13.
The first three goals of the night came from the spot as United captain Bruno Fernandes struck twice to cancel out Mikel Oyarzabal’s opener in the second leg of the last-16 clash at Old Trafford.
Amorim’s side were then awarded a third penalty when Dorgu went down inside the area. However, the referee reversed his call without consulting the video assistant referee as the defender reportedly told the official he did not think it was a penalty.
“It depends,” said Amorim when asked if he supported Dorgu’s actions.
“It is the right thing to do. Quite proud of him but if it is 0-0 or we are losing, (I don’t know) if I have the same response.”
The 20-year-old Dorgu, a January signing from Serie A team Lecce, was a constant menace down the left as he also won United’s second penalty and was fouled for a red card shown to Jon Aramburu early in the second half.
“He did a great performance. He’s improving in that position,” added Amorim.
However, in keeping with recent weeks, it was Fernandes who was his side’s star man. The Portuguese midfielder completed his hat-trick to take his tally for the season to 15 goals, before Diogo Dalot rounded off the scoring in stoppage time.
“Sometimes, he is frustrated because he wants to win so bad when we are not playing well. He changes positions and goes after the ball... he needs to trust more in his teammates to play better,” said Amorim of Fernandes.
“But when we need it, he is always there. He is a perfect captain for our team and we need to help him to win titles because he deserves it a lot.”
United, who advanced 5-2 on aggregate, will next face Ligue 1 side Lyon in the quarter-finals.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Wilson Odobert scores their third goal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, goals in either half from Wilson Odobert and James Maddison earned Tottenham Hotspur a 3-1 win against AZ Alkmaar.
Odobert powered home following sloppy Alkmaar defending to get Spurs level on aggregate in the 26th minute, after the first leg finished 1-0 to the Dutch side.
Maddison put the hosts 2-0 up three minutes into the second period before Peer Koopmeiners responded after the hour to level the tie again. Odobert then grabbed his second and Spurs’ third on the night in the 74th minute to set up a quarter-final meeting with Bundesliga’s Eintracht Frankfurt.
“We’ve progressed, which is the main thing,” said Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou.
“We played pretty well. I thought we were really in control of the game, but we were our own worst enemies at times. It got a bit nervy towards the end, but we thoroughly deserved to progress.”
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, meanwhile, fought back at Rangers to win 2-0 after losing the first leg 3-1 in Istanbul.
But three missed spot kicks by the Turkish outfit handed their Scottish opponents a 3-2 win in the shoot-out, and a last-eight clash with La Liga side Athletic Bilbao. AFP, REUTERS
