Manchester United ended their wretched 11-match winless run on the road as Anthony Martial’s spot-kick secured a hard-fought victory played out to a hostile backdrop at Partizan Belgrade.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer kicked off his reign with a club record nine successive away wins, only to endure a remarkable 33-week wait stretching back to March’s jaw-dropping Champions League triumph at Paris St Germain.
No longer at the continent’s top table, the Europa League provided the platform for their first victory on the road since then, with United digging deep amid Partizan pressure – from both players and their unrelenting fans – as Martial’s first-half penalty secured a 1-0 triumph.
Jesse Lingard and former Rangers man Umar Sadiq hit the woodwork in quick succession during an even first half that United would snatch the lead in, with Martial converting the penalty won by the direct running of Brandon Williams.
It capped a promising display by the 19-year-old on his second senior start and fellow teenager James Garner held his own in a hostile environment, but Solskjaer’s side rode their luck in Belgrade.
Savo Milosevic’s men pushed throughout the second half but were just unable to level.
Raul Jimenez capped Wolves’ Europa League comeback as they laboured to a 2-1 win at Slovan Bratislava.
The striker’s penalty fired Nuno Espirito Santo’s men to an unconvincing victory as they moved into second in Group K.
Andraz Sporar’s opener was cancelled out by Romain Saiss’ deflected second-half effort before Jimenez won and converted a penalty five minutes later.
Diogo Jota was sent off late on after two quickfire yellow cards but they survived to sit a point behind group leaders Braga.
Alfredo Morelos netted his 10th Europa League goal of the season as an impressive Rangers drew 1-1 in Porto.
Morelos levelled a minute before half-time after a brilliant assist from left-back Borna Barisic.
The striker’s Colombia team-mate, Luis Diaz, had given the hosts the lead from long range eight minutes earlier after clinically punishing Ryan Jack’s slack pass during a spell of pressure from the hosts.
But that was a rare period of anxiety for around 3,000 travelling fans, who made their presence felt among the 31,307 crowd in the Estadio do Dragao.
Here are results from the Europa League action…
Besiktas 1-2 Braga
Roma 1-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
CSKA Moscow 0-1 Ferencvaros
Partizan 0-1 Manchester United
Qarabag 2-2 Apoel Nicosia
Ludogorets 0-1 Espanyol
Slovan Bratislava 1-2 Wolves
Porto 1-1 Rangers
St-Etienne 1-1 Oleksandriya
Gent 2-2 Wolfsburg
Istanbul Basaksehir 1-0 Wolfsburg
Young Boys 2-0 Feyenoord
AZ Alkmaar 6-0 Astana
