This win keeps Man United within a chance of still finishing top of their group while Sheriff are now out of the Europa League. Man United will face West Ham before traveling to Real Sociedad next week for the group decider, Sheriff will need a draw at home against Omonia to secure a spot in the Europa Conference League.
Koval made four saves in the first half for Sheriff but could not stop Dalot's header in the 44th minute. Eriksen's cross from the corner was perfect for the defender to break the deadlock. Man United started the second half well but had to wait until the 65th minute to score. Shaw made an overlapping run and clipped a ball into the box, which was headed home by Rashford. Ronaldo then finished the game off in the 81st minute after scoring from his own rebound to make it 3-0.
90' + 3' FULL TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 3-0 SHERIFF TIRASPOL
E. Gliga
C. Badolo
90' + 3' Gliga replaces Badolo in the dying seconds of the game.
90' + 1' WHAT A SAVE! Koval makes an unreal save from point-blank range to stop McTominay's header!
90' There will be a minimum of three additional minutes.
N. Covali
I. Atiemwen
89' Atiemwen comes off the pitch for Covali for the final few minutes.
88' Fernandes sends in another dangerous cross, this time to Van de Beek, but it is just beyond the reach of the midfielder.
86' Eriksen whips in a corner for Man United, but Sheriff manage to clear the ball away from danger.
H. Maguire
Yellow Card
84' Maguire receives Man United's first yellow card of the game after a clumsy foul.
83' Rashford and Van de Beek try to combine on the left side of the box but the latter's return pass is too powerful and goes out for a goal kick.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Goal
81' GOALLL!!! 3-0 RONALDO!! Ronaldo makes it three for Man United and puts the game to bed! Fernandes sends a cross to the striker, whose initial header is saved by Koval, but he fires the rebound home with his left foot.
81' Ronaldo tries to shoot from long range from a free-kick, but his effort crashes into the wall.
D. van de Beek
A. Garnacho
79' Van de Beek replaces Garnacho to add another body in the Man United midfield.
Pernambuco
R. Akanbi
79' Pernambuco comes on for Rasheed on the left wing for the visitors.
A. Hatman
M. Diop
79' Hatman replaces Diop in the midfield for Sheriff.
78' SAVE! Rashford tries to bend his powerful shot into the bottom right corner but Koval makes a good diving save to stop the effort.
76' Man United are being very patient when attacking now. They are playing risk-free football to see this game through.
74' Koval is back up after help from the physios and is able to continue.
74' Koval is down on the pitch and is receiving treatment for an ankle problem.
73' Lindelof does well to drive past two players, but his pass to Rashford is slightly misplaced and goes out of play.
71' Sheriff have lost each of their last three matches in the Europa League, failing to score in each game. Sheriff have never previously lost four games in a row in major European competitions.
69' Garnacho wins a foul for Man United and the hosts take the set-piece quickly. They move too fast for their own good and lose possession.
67' Man United are far more comfortable in this game now as they ease up their pressing and look to prioritise a clean sheet now.
L. Shaw
Assist
65' Shaw makes a good overlapping run around Eriksen and then plays a first-time cross to Rashford in the box to get an assist for Man United.
M. Rashford
Goal
65' GOALL!!!!! 2-0 RASHFORD!! Rashford doubles the lead for Man United with a brilliant header! Eriksen plays Shaw down the left wing and the defender clips the ball into the box. Rashford gets plenty of power on the header to get a second for his side.
Renan Guedes
Yellow Card
64' Guedes receives a yellow card after fouling Garnacho.
S. McTominay
Casemiro
63' McTominay comes on for Casemiro to protect the Man United back four.
L. Shaw
Diogo Dalot
63' Shaw replaces Dalot in the Man United defence. He will play at left-back while Malacia moves to the right side.
62' OFFSIDE! Ronaldo puts the ball in the back of the net back but he is offside when receiving the pass from Fernandes!
60' Eriksen continues to conduct the play for Man United in this game. He has made six key passes, two more than the rest of his attacking team-mates combined.
58' BIG CHANCE! Ronaldo has the opportunity to double the lead, but he fires his shot over the bar as he looks to hit the top right corner.
56' Garnacho does well to keep the ball in play on the left wing. He cuts inside and tries to find a team-mate with a cross, but his pass is too low and comes to nothing.
54' Sheriff try to start a counter-attack with Rasheed but the winger is quickly outnumbered by Man United defenders and the attack ends.
52' Man United are forcing Sheriff to go long every time they get the ball. The visitors cannot work their way around the press and lose the ball subsequently.
50' Man United are committing a lot of players forward in search of a second goal. Dalot and Malacia are both pushing high up the pitch, leaving Maguire and Lindelof at the back.
48' Dalot makes his way to the byline and tries to chip the ball back to Rashford, but Kiki intercepts the pass and clears the ball.
46' Sheriff get the second period underway!
M. Rashford
Antony
46' Rashford replaces Antony at the break for Man United.
H. Maguire
L. Martínez
46' Maguire comes on for Martinez for the second half.
The goal just before half time will completely change the second-half tactics for Sheriff but if they want to stop Man United from creating more chances, they will need to be a lot tighter to Eriksen. The Denmark international is controlling the play and being allowed too much time to play a pass or take a shot.
Man United dominated the ball in the half and created a few good opportunities. The best chance, prior to the goal, fell to Ronaldo as he failed to score from five yards out after Fernandes' knockdown. Koval made four saves in the half for Sheriff but could not stop Dalot's header in the 44th minute. Eriksen's cross from the corner was perfect for the defender to break the deadlock. Sheriff struggled to move the ball into the final third and create any good attacks.
45' + 1' HALF-TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 SHERIFF TIRASPOL
45' There will be a minimum of one additional minute.
C. Eriksen
Assist
44' Eriksen takes the perfect corner as he picks out Dalot completely unopposed at the front post to head the hosts into the lead.
Diogo Dalot
Goal
44' GOALLL!!!! 1-0 DALOT!!! Manchester United take the lead just before half-time through Dalot! Eriksen sends in a corner to the near post and Dalot is unmarked. The defender makes no mistake with the header.
42' Sheriff are trying to slow the game down as they look to enter the break without conceding.
40' Kpozo sends in a dangerous cross toward Rasheed in the box, but the winger cannot jump high enough to head it in.
38' Garnacho and Ronaldo counter down the left wing but the latter loses the ball when he tries to cut in to take a shot.
36' Atiemwen does well to get past Malacia but runs into trouble and Martinez tackles him to win the ball back.
34' The atmosphere inside Old Trafford is very calm at the moment. The fans perhaps wanting to see a bit more quality in the final third from their side.
32' Man United have lost just one of their last 20 matches at Old Trafford in the Europa League (W15 D4), although that defeat did come on MD1 against Real Sociedad. The Red Devils have only once before lost two home group stage games in a single campaign – in the 1996-97 UEFA Champions League.
30' DOUBLE SAVE! Eriksen is given plenty of time to take a shot from outside of the box and Koval saves well as the ball dips just in front of him. The rebound falls to Fernandes, but the goalkeeper does well to close him down and save again.
28' HUGE CHANCE! Lindelof picks out Fernandes with a brilliant lofted pass into the box. Fernandes heads the ball toward Ronaldo in the six-yard box and the striker tries to poke to ball into the net, but Koval saves well with his right foot!
26' Antony finds Fernandes on the edge of the box and the midfielder takes a touch to set himself before curling his effort wide of the right post.
25' Garnacho cuts onto his right foot and tries to find Ronaldo with a cross, but Kiki clears it away with a diving header.
23' Casemiro is back on the pitch after the physios treat his injury.
R. Akanbi
Yellow Card
22' Rasheed receives a yellow card after catching Casemiro in the mouth with an elbow.
22' Casemiro is receiving treatment on the pitch after catching an elbow from Rasheed. Man United are playing with 10 men for the time being.
21' The referee warns Koval about the time it is taking for him to take his goal kicks. Sheriff are looking to use up as much time as possible with every set piece and throw-in.
19' Eriksen is dictating the match at the moment. He finds himself in acres of space and picks out Garnacho in the box. The winger cannot get the ball under control and loses possession.
17' Eriksen finds Fernandes in the box with a brilliant driven pass, but Kiki does well to tackle the midfielder and win a goal kick for his side.
15' Sheriff are really struggling to string a few passes together in the opposition half and they are making it easy for Man United to regain possession.
13' Eriksen swings in a corner for Man United and Casemiro heads the ball toward goal, but Radeljic blocks the attempt.
11' Garnacho drives at Guedes before laying the ball off to Ronaldo. The striker is fouled but Antony plays on and shoots with his right foot, but Koval catches the shot.
9' Casemiro sees Koval off his line and tries to score from the halfway line. His effort flies wide of the left post.
7' Man United are enjoying a lot of the ball in the early minutes here but they are currently outnumbered in the final third as Sheriff defend with almost all 11 players behind the ball.
5' Casemiro tries to find Antony with a defence-splitting pass, but Sheriff manage to get bodies in the way of the pass and cut it out.
3' The game is starting with sloppy passes from both sides but it is clear Man United will be dominating possession while Sheriff look for opportunities to counter-attack in this game.
1' Ronaldo gets the game underway for Manchester United!
The players are coming out of the tunnel and onto the pitch!
No Moldovan side has ever beaten an English club in major European competitions (P5 W0 D1 L4), losing both such matches away from home: Zimbru Chisinau at Spurs in September 1999 and Sheriff Tiraspol also at Spurs in 2013.
Ten Hag makes four changes to Man United’s starting lineup from the weekend as Lindelof, Malacia, Garnacho and Ronaldo come into the team. Victor Mihailov also makes four changes as Koval, Kpozo, Badolo and Kyabou all start.
SUBS: Nichita Covali, Pernambuco, Heron, Serghei Pascenco, Danila Ignatov, Felipe Vizeu, Adrian Hatman, Dumitru Celeadnic, Eugeniu Gliga.
SUBS: Anthony Elanga, Martin Dubravka, Fred, Tom Heaton, Zidane Iqbal, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Facundo Pellistri, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Luke Shaw, Donny van de Beek.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): David de Gea; Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia; Christian Eriksen, Casemiro; Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho; Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sheriff must win tonight if they want any chance of progressing to the next round of this competition, but a draw could be enough to secure a spot in the Europa Conference League in the new year. Sheriff are still top of the Moldovan top division but lost to second-place Petrocub on the weekend.
Man United are second in Group E after winning three of their four Europa League games so far. A draw tonight will see them through to the next round, but they will need a win if they want to challenge Real Sociedad for the top spot. Erik ten Hag’s side drew against Chelsea on the weekend and are unbeaten in six games in all competitions.
Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the Europa League fixture between Manchester United and Sheriff Tiraspol.
Commentary