EUROPA LEAGUE: Cristiano shoots Sheriff as United earn their first UEL points

There were no signs of glamour or cutting-edge football from Erik ten Hag's side on Thursday night, but even a decent display against Sheriff FC provided Manchester United with a comfortable 2-0 away win.

The Red Devils scored two before the break to seal the victory at the Zimbru Stadium in Chisinau, which is not the regular home to Sheriff (they're not allowed to play in Tiraspol due to the raging war in Ukraine, which is close to the particular Moldovian city).

After a sloppy start, United got in front almost 20 minutes into the game thanks to a masterful Jadon Sancho's solo effort on the edge of the box. He dribbled smoothly before placing it perfectly in the bottom left corner.

The visitors doubled the lead promptly thanks to a penalty after Diogo Dallot was thumped in the rival's box. Cristiano Ronaldo was more than accurate from the spot and it was instantly clear there was no chance of Sheriff's miraculous comeback whatsoever.

The hosts - packed with more than a dozen formidable African players - did their best to hurt the favourites, but except for two or three situations (mostly in the first half), De Gea was not to be bothered on the line.

Despite the delivery that was slightly off, United can be satisfied with both the result and the team's composure and attitude, which have improved radically compared to less than a month ago.

Elsewhere, Real Sociedad secured a second successive victory in the Europa League, as they narrowly defeated Omonia Nicosia 2-1 at the Anoeta Stadium, to record just their second home win in seven matches.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Thursday

Sociedad - Omonia 2-1 (1-0)

/Guevara 30, Sorloth 82 - Bruno 72/

Sheriff Tiraspol - Man Utd 0-2 (0-2)

/Sancho 17, Ronaldo 39 pen/

Feyenoord - Sturm 6-0 (4-0)

/Jahanbakhsh 9, 41, Hancko 31, Danilo 34, Gimenez 66, Idrissi 78/

Midtjylland - Lazio 5-1 (2-0)

/Paulinho 26, Kaba 30, Evander 52 pen, Isaksen 67, Sviatchenko 72 - Milinkovic-Savic 57/

Olympiakos - Freiburg 0-3 (0-2)

/Hofler 5, Gregoritsch 25, 53/

Qarabag - Nantes 3-0 (0-0)

/Owusu 60, Zoubir 65, Jankovic 72/

Monaco - Ferencvaros 0-1 (0-0)

/Vecsei 80/

Trabzon - Crvena Zvezda 2-1 (1-0)

/Hamsik 16, Trezeguet 68 - Nikolic 88/

22.00: (1.58) Bodo (4.00) Zurich (6.00)

22.00: (1.80) Dynamo Kyiv (3.60) AEK Larnaca (5.10)

22.00: (1.87) Rennes (3.70) Fenerbahce (4.50)

22.00: (1.15) Roma (9.00) Helsinki (22.0)

22.00: (1.38) Betis (4.90) Ludogorets (10.0)

22.00: (2.25) Braga (3.35) Union Berlin (3.50)

22.00: (1.65) St.Gilloise (3.80) Malmo (6.25)

***odds are subject to change