Manchester United needed a late, late strike from Bruno Fernandes to earn them three points against Rangers and ease the pressure on head coach Ruben Amorim.

Amorim's side were dealt a huge helping hand by Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland, with the former United loanee scoring a calamitous own goal in their clash, but they couldn't make their lead stick. Cyriel Dessers' brilliantly-taken goal looked like rescuing injury-hit Rangers, only for Fernandes to have the last word.

Before the match, Ruben Amorim stressed the importance of scoring first. It looked like that had happened midway through the first half when Matthijs de Ligt headed home from a corner, only for his fellow centre-back Leny Yoro to be penalised for a foul off the ball.

When the opener arrived, United had their opponents to thank. Butland should have been able to deal with Christian Eriksen's corner from the left, but got it all wrong and sent the ball into the back of his own net.

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Amorim rung the changes after Sunday's defeat against , with Andre Onana making way in one of five changes. Rangers missed a golden chance to go in front inside 10 minutes, with Nicolas Raskin beating the offside trap but getting his feet wrong and failing to prod the ball beyond deputy goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.

As long as it remained 1-0, though, there was always a chance for the visitors. Sure enough, Dessers took his chance brilliantly with a perfect first touch and a low finish into the bottom corner, but there was still more drama to come.

Amorim has plenty to think about as his United team prepares to face on Sunday, while Rangers boss Philippe Clement was dealt fresh injury worries as his side gets ready to face Dundee United. Here are Mirror Football's talking points from the game at Old Trafford.

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United winger Amad enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Rangers earlier in his career, but he wasn't the only one up against a former club. Rangers keeper Jack Butland spent half a season at Old Trafford in 2023, albeit without making it onto the pitch, and he had a chance to show the club what they were missing.

As luck would have it, the two men up against former clubs faced off before half-time. On that occasion it was the keeper who came out on top, standing firm and making himself big to deny Amad.

Butland was called into action again close to half-time, producing a big hand to deny Lisandro Martinez after the defender was allowed to break forward and power an effort at goal. It all went wrong early in the second half, though, with the kind of error he'll want to get out of his mind as quickly as possible.

All it takes in this game is one lapse in concentration, and found this out to his peril. He really should have dealt better with a hopeful ball from deep, but his failure to do so allowed Dessers to steal in.

He was as grateful as anyone, then, when Fernandes popped up moments later to restore United's lead. The visitors' defending was similarly unconvincing, but the hosts won't mind how their winner went in.

Maguire barely had a moment to dwell on his slip-up before the story changed. However, United will still need to heed the warning if they don't want to be punished in future.

Alejandro Garnacho was given the nod by Amorim despite talk of a January exit persisting. While Napoli appear to have turned their attention to other targets, remain keen on the Argentina international.

Garnacho has an early sight of goal, forcing a save from Butland. Another, better chance would arrive midway through the first half, only for Raskin to deflect it over the Rangers bar.

The Argentina international continued to knock at the door in the second half and saw an effort headed off the line by Robin Propper. He faded as the game went on, though, and could find himself back on the bench against Fulham on Sunday - even if a late effort, saved by Butland, reminded those watching that he can provide a threat at a moment's notice.

There were plenty of changes to the United line-up, but a recall for Rashford wasn't one of them. The England international was spotted in training in the lead-up to the game, but there was no place for him in the matchday squad.

Rashford's most recent United outing came in this competition, when he played the best part of an hour against Viktoria Plzen. While he hasn't been at his best this term, he does still have seven goals to his name, with one of those coming in a 3-3 Europa League draw against Porto.

It may be the case that the club's preference is to find a taker for Rashford and bring in a new face. If they fail in that respect, though, the tentative attacking play in the first half suggests the 27-year-old could still have something to offer - even if it's just until the end of the season.

Altay Bayindir was given the nod in goal after Andre Onana's afternoon to forget against Brighton, and the Turkish international had to be on his game early. None of his first-half stops were the kind another keeper couldn't have pulled off, but they will have given him a bit of a confidence boost.

Rangers' chances dried up later in the first half, but the United stopper needed to remain alert early in the second to deny Vaclav Cerny. Jefte then put him to the test 15 minutes from time, with Bayindir watching the Brazilian's effort all the way.

Throughout the campaign, Onana has been recognised for his positive contributions even as the odd error has cost his team. It may have benefited the Cameroonian to enjoy an evening out of the spotlight - now it's time to see how many more chances his understudy is given.

Toby Collyer hadn't played a minute in Europe before Thursday, but Amorim decided to trust the youngster from the start. There was a nervy early moment when he was caught in possession for Raskin's chance, only to get bailed out by his goalkeeper.

With playing deeper than usual, and with Christian Eriksen not the most mobile, it meant a lot of running for Collyer. He certainly put himself about, refusing to let that hiccup define his evening.

Collyer and Eriksen made way for and Manuel Ugarte for the final 20 minutes. It was the former's longest run-out so far under Amorim, and he'll hope he did enough to guarantee more minutes as the season goes on.

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