Out-of-Favour United Striker Misses Opportunity to Snatch Old Trafford Lifeline

Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez missed the opportunity to give his Old Trafford future a shot in the arm and impress manager David Moyes after a horror miss in the Champions League draw with Real Sociedad.

Hernandez blazed over from six yards from Shinji Kagawa's cross four minutes after the break, a miss followed by Robin van Persie's failure from the penalty spot as United were unable to all-but secure qualification for the knock-out phase.

The Mexican's future at United has been under constant scrutiny this season having made just two league starts, leading to the 25 year old admitting he may have to consider a future away from the Premier League champions.

International team-mate Carlos Vela added in the lead-up to the tie against Sociedad that Hernandez was too good to remain fourth choice at United but having followed goals against Stoke City and Norwich City with an inauspicious performance in Europe questions over his future are only likely to mount.

Moyes has made no secret of the fact that Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck are ahead of Hernandez in the pecking order, but insists the ex-Guadalajara hitman remains part of his long-term plans.

However, having missed the opportunity to impress on the big stage, Moyes might again question Hernandez's suitability for the big stage, an accusation often levelled at the forward despite having scored 54 goals in 125 appearances for United.

After Hernandez and Van Persie's misses saw United - who had Marouane Fellaini sent off late on - only claim a draw, Moyes said: "It was a game we should have won: the points were there for the taking, and we could have put ourselves in a really strong position.

"We had enough chances to win it, especially in the second half. We controlled most of the game, apart from one or two moments, and I thought we were the team that was on top.

"Football will tell you that you need to take your chances and opportunities when they come along. We missed a big opportunity tonight, but we're still in a strong position."

United midfielder Ryan Giggs added: "It was a good performance and I was just disappointed we didn't get the three points, we had the chances and on another day we would have won the game.

"It happens, you probably don't see Robin and Chicharito miss two chances like that in a game, but it happens, they are two great goalscorers, on another day they go in and we win the game."