Pogba injured as Man Utd labour to Rostov win
Juan Mata scored the only goal as Manchester United recorded an underwhelming 1-0 victory over FC Rostov on Thursday to reach the Europa League quarter-finals.
Mata struck 20 minutes from the end of a subdued game, completing a 2-1 aggregate win that sent United into the last eight of Europe’s second-tier club competition for the first time since 1985.
But victory came at the cost of an injury to world-record signing Paul Pogba, who left the fray with an apparent hamstring injury early in the second half at an unseasonably cold Old Trafford.
United, who have never won the Europa League, will discover their last-eight opponents in Friday’s draw in Nyon. Jose Mourinho’s men are seeking to add the trophy to the League Cup they won last month and have the added incentive of knowing it will yield a place in next season’s Champions League.
Mourinho kept faith with the back three he had deployed in Monday’s 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Chelsea, but whereas it was a defensive tactic at Stamford Bridge, there was very little defending to do against Rostov.
Decried for a below-par display at Chelsea, Pogba was able to spray diagonal passes around to his heart’s content, such was the Russian side’s stubborn determination to defend the edge of their own box.
Pogba departed in the 47th minute, Marouane Fellaini tak ing his place, and Rostov briefly threatened to take the upper hand, Sergio Romero saving from Sardar Azmoun and Christian Noboa. United also lost Daley Blind after he took a bang to the head, which resulted in the curi ous sight of Phil Jones coming on as a jobbing left wing-back.
ANDERLECHT NEXT IN LAST EIGHT
Manchester United will face Belgian club Anderlecht in the Europa League quarterfinals after Friday’s draw which saw France’s Lyon land Turkish champions Besiktas.
United are favourites to win the competition for the first time in Solna, Sweden on May 24 which could earn them a passage into next season’s Champions League, a fact not lost on Juan Mata.
“I still think we have the chance to get to the Champions League through the Premier League. I still think we can win a lot of games and get into the third or fourth positions,” he said.