Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Man Utd.. 1 Celta Vigo.. 1 Fellaini nods Utd into final
..but Bailly misses out after red card
THERE was no manic dash down the Old Trafford touchline, no visible signs of delirium.
There was just that steely job-done look – but do not for one minute underestimate how much this meant to Jose Mourinho. It might have been a competition he once derided but taking Manchester United to a European final in his first season will be an achievement he will rightly be proud of. He will be proud even though this was strictly functional, proud even though a place in the showpiece in Stockholm was hardly sealed with a showpiece performance. There was something apt about the early, decisive goal from Marouane Fellaini. Nice set-up, great execution but direct. After that early strike, the Reds performed like an away team, not overly fussed about possession, content to look for the counter. It was no sort of rumbustious display to mark the progression to a meeting with Ajax but that will not bother Mourinho. He will be more concerned by the loss of Eric Bailly for the final after the centreback was sent off for raising his hands to John Guidetti. Ahead of kick-off, Mourinho made his umpteenth, plaintive appeal to United fans, asking for the type of raucous backing that characterises their opponents’ following. It was the visiting contingent though who made themselves heard as soon as the turnstiles opened. They also had good reason in an opening spell that saw Iago Aspas, in particular, show more attacking adventure in a few minutes than his team did for most of the game in Spain. That adventure, though, was crushed with one simple but beautiful goal. Paul Scholes recently suggested Marcus Rashford is one of the best strikers of the ball at the club and that his
pureness of hit had not yet been fully advertised. It was a point backed up by his goal in Vigo, although their were debates about the efforts of Celta keeper Sergio Alvarez on that occasion. There is, however, no doubt Rashford has the sweetest of right pegs and his assist for the Fellaini header that settled United nerves was even more accomplished than that first-leg free-kick. Picking up possession midway inside Celta territory and close to the left touchline, he spotted Fellaini peeling away to the right and his 30yard cross, hit with just the right height and dip, meant the Belgian only had to steady himself and put his head in the way to double United’s aggregate lead. Alvarez did get a hand to it but it was a clinical finish made possible by the competency of the centre. Rashford is a player coming into full bloom and it was his confidence that lifted any United anxiety, his confidence that rubbed off on the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard, who both took ambitious, and over-lifted, pops from distance. The deflation in Celta ranks was palpable, although Sergio Romero did have to make a safety-first save from a Pablo Hernandez effort. And there were moments of panic in the second half, not least when Hernandez volleyed a fraction wide, when Romero was called on to deal with a clever Aspas cross, when Hernandez flashed a simple headed chance wide. Hardly captivating stuff from United but it was the sort of scenario Mourinho relishes. Comfort would have arrived had Alvarez not got a strong enough hand to Mkhitaryan’s fizzing attempt but, in truth, United did not deserve to coast home. And they did not, Facundo Roncaglia making for nervy finale when he struck in the 85th minute. There was a huge scare with what proved to be the last kick of the game when Guidetti could have put Celta in the final on away goals, but failed to make proper contact. It was an aggregate victory that had been eked out in unconvincing style by United. That will not bother Jose, though. There was no wild celebration but another final beckons and another trophy waits to be won. And that is all he manages for.