United ease through in Europa
1-0 win on the night over St Etienne puts Reds through 4-0 on aggregate
Last updated 23rd Feb 2017
United cruised to the last 16 of the Europa League without Captain Wayne Rooney with a solid performance against St Etienne last night in a match that seemed more like a warm up for Sunday’s EFL Cup Final against Southampton.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the only goal in the 16th minute following a pin point pass from Juan Mata. Giving United a four goal advantage, but just 10 minutes later Mkhitaryan was subbed off grabbing his hamstring, a big disappointment given the Armenian’s recent good form.
United maintained their dominance throughout the match, coming close on numerous occasions with Ibrahomivic’s goal being flagged as offside in the 24th minute and Rashford coming close in the second half.
Despite having more shots and possession than United, St Etienne were tame on the night only forcing a solid save from United goalkeeper Romero in the 92nd minute following a corner.
But not everything went United’s way though. As well as Mkhitaryan, Michael Carrick also came off injured in the second half and are both a doubt for Sunday’s Cup Final according to manager Jose Mourinho.
Adding to the disappointment defender Eric Bailly was sent off for a second yellow card in the 63rd minute, with both booking occurring within 185 seconds of eachother. Meaning he will be out of the first leg of their final 16 clash. The draw will take place this Friday at 12pm.
Paul Pogba was given man of the match for his link up play with Ibrahimovic, despite not playing to his full potential on the night.
Mourinho said after the match that: "Everything was under control, solid, focused, professional. Obviously the first goal kills every hope. We still like to win the game. I told the players if someone gives me a 2-1 victory it is not enough.
I have to give the right message to the players and the right message is to play with a strong team and have a bench with options. We knew it would be difficult. It was important to play solid and to have complete control of the game."
Despite the win, fans took to Twitter to vent their frustration towards their manager. Criticising him for not resting their top players and for not using their strength in depth, going into a match with a three goal advantage.