SMASHIN’ FELLA
Bailly Final KO as Marouane seals it
MAROUANE FELLAINI’S 17th-minute header sent Manchester United into the Europa League final at Old Trafford last night.
But defender Eric Bailly will miss the May 24 showpiece in Stockholm after being sent off in the dying minutes with Celta Vigo’s Facundo Roncaglia.
Boss Jose Mourinho is already without injured defender Marcos Rojo and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the final against Ajax, who overcame Lyon.
At least the win keeps alive Mourinho’s hopes of booking the Champions League place that goes to the winner.
Fellaini headed home Marcus Rashford’s cross to give United the lead, but Roncaglia gave them a fright by equalising five minutes from time.
MAROUANE FELLAINI last night showed what his head really should be for to send Jose Mourinho’s side through to the Europa League Final.
The Belgian still has one more game to miss of a three-match domestic ban for a headbutt on Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero.
But it was ‘heads I win’ this time for the tall midfielder when he nodded United ahead in the 17th minute of a match in which both teams finished with 10 men.
While Marcus Rashford shaped to send over a cross from the left, Fellaini dropped off marker Pablo Hernandez.
Squeeze
And when the ball came to him he was never going to miss at the far post from just a few feet out.
It was a tight angle, but he managed to squeeze his header inside the post, with keeper Sergio Alvarez only able to palm the ball in.
He may not be the most cultured of players, but David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and now Mourinho have all valued the 29-year-old highly, particularly for his aerial threat. At Old Trafford he gave another indication why in this Europa League semi-final,
second leg – a match described by Mourinho, rather ridiculously, as the most important in the club’s history.
Granted getting to the final in Stockholm and actually winning the trophy means entry into next season’s Champions League. But the claim was a bit much.
United, who have struggled for form of late, started very shakily, particularly in defence.
In the fourth minute Iago Aspas darted into the box on the right and cut inside before smashing a fierce left-foot shot which Sergio Romero tipped over.
Having beaten Barcelona and Real Madrid this season, the Spanish side saw no reason to be daunted by the challenge at Old Trafford.
A superb surging run from Paul Pogba looked to have seen him put in Rashford, but his touch with his left foot, rather than his right, ensured it came to nothing.
Romero then had to tip over a drive from Hernandez as the Chile star tried to atone from his defensive slip.
Danny Blind was booked in the 32nd minute for sliding in wildly on Hernandez, who was sent flying into the air.
Flap
Pogba sent a rocket shot over but at the other end, in the 42nd minute, Daniel Wass almost headed in Pione Sisto’s cross – and probably would have done were it not for the pressure Matteo Darmian put on him.
United started poorly again after the break and when Romero could only flap Mallo’s cross into the danger-zone, skipper Antonio Valencia was luckily there to boot clear.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan then almost took off Alvarez’s hand with a thunderbolt the keeper somehow managed to push over and Rashford was denied by Alvarez after jinking his way towards goal.
In the 67th minute home fans at last sang Mourinho’s name but the away support responded with a less-than-kind chant.
Soon after Fellaini tested Alvarez with a shot at the keeper’s near post. This time he was equal to it.
The game then boiled over in three crazy minutes. In the 85th minute Celta defender Facundo Roncaglia headed past Romero to level the scores on the night.
And then in the 88th minute, after a melee on the halfway line, Roncaglia and Eric Bailly were both shown straight red cards. MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3):