Cavani strikes early to put Solskjaer’s men in last four
Whether they win the Europa League or not this season, and opportunity certainly knocks now, Manchester United should be back in the Champions League again next term and it is nights like these that must leave them yearning for a return to Europe’s premier club competition.
United did the job that was asked of them on a very low-key evening as Edinson Cavani’s sixth-minute volley and a stoppage-time own goal from Jesus Vallejo eased their passage through to a semi-final meeting with Roma.
Yet part of you was left to wonder how Granada had got this far in a competition that is so inferior to its glamorous big sister, a chasm that felt particularly pronounced here when you considered the quality of some of the quarter-finals the Champions League staged this week. United did not have to be anything near their best over the two legs to progress and spent much of this game in second gear.
Roma, who have United old boys Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Chris Smalling and former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko in their ranks, will doubtless provide far more of a threat than Granada could manage.
United, of course, can only beat who is in front of them and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will now be desperate to finish the job. With Arsenal overcoming Slavia Prague in their quarter-final, there is the prospect of an all-english final, but United must first overcome their semi-final hoodoo under Solskjaer. This is the fifth time United have reached the last four of a cup competition since Solskjaer took charge in December 2018 but they have not won any of the previous four, including last August’s Europa League semi-final defeat by Sevilla, so there is a mental barrier to overcome.
Smalling and Mkhitaryan were part of the United side who won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in 2017 and will now be hoping to inflict more semi-final pain on their old club.
“I’ve not seen too much of them [Roma] but they defend well, as Italian teams always do,” Solskjaer said. “We all know Edin Dzeko so every ball into the box is a dangerous one.
“It feels like a proper European tie because Roma is a club with lots of history. We’ve done well against Italian sides before.
“We need to make the most of it, we’ve got a chance to go to the final. The disappointment of the defeats we’ve had will give us the motivation to go further and hopefully end the season on a high. The next step is to get to a final and win a trophy. The determination is there.”
Bruno Fernandes had another influential game and said: “Granada had quality and could create danger. But we had control of the game, kept the ball, kept moving and earned the result doing the good things right. Roma have good organisation defensively and they have some players who know the Premier League, so it will be tough.”
Despite Granada’s limitations, Solskjaer took no chances with his team selection. That meant starts for Fernandes, Cavani and Paul Pogba, who was given the captaincy, and once again no place for Donny van de Beek, whose determination to make things work at Old Trafford must be severely tested on nights such as this.
It was probably a good job for the Dutchman then that Pogba, who had been booked and narrowly avoided a second yellow card for a
challenge on Yangel Herrera just two minutes later, was withdrawn for his own good at half time.
United were already missing Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Scott Mctominay through suspension and Solskjaer did not fancy losing Pogba for the semi-final, so he made way for Van de Beek at the break. “I didn’t want to take the risk and Donny needed a game,” Solskjaer said.
Pogba had contributed to the game’s one highlight before his departure, flicking Alex Telles’s cross with his head into the path of Cavani who, with far too much room and time, steered a smart left-foot volley into the far corner. And that was pretty much that.
United were not great thereafter but nor did they need to be, and they managed the game fairly well, with Solskjaer able to shuffle his pack with one eye on Sunday’s Premier League visit of Burnley, as United try to nail down second spot.
Herrera had sent a couple of headers wide that briefly got Solskjaer out of his seat to tell his side to sharpen up but Axel Tuanzebe, making his first start since late January, and Victor Lindelof were tidy at the back and it was not until the final minutes that Granada really tested David de Gea, who made a good save to deny Herrera, the Spanish club’s best player.
United went down the other end to claim a second, with Vallejo turning in Telles’s cross.
The challenge now is to take that next step and at last make a final.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea 7; Wan-bissaka 6 (Williams 82), Tuanzebe 7, Lindelof 7, Telles 7; Fred 6, Matic 6; Greenwood 6 (Diallo 82), Fernandes 6 (Mata 73), Pogba 6 (Van de Beek 45); Cavani 7 (James 60).
Subs Grant (g), Henderson (g), Rashford, Fish, Elanga, Shoretire. Booked Pogba.
Granada (4-2-3-1): Silva 6; Foulquier 6, German 6 (Perez 82), Vallejo 6, Neva 6 (Diaz 75); Montoro 6, Gonalons 6 (Molina 32); Kenedy 6 (Puertas 45), Herrera 7, Machis 6; Soldado 5 (Suarez 45). Subs Banacloche (g), Fabrega, Ruiz, Torrente. Booked Sanchez, Neva, Soldado, Montoro.
Referee Istvan Kovacs (Romania).