IGHALO IS A BIG NOISE AS REDS ENJOY THE SILENCE
ODION IGHALO has gone from strength to strength since his move to Manchester United was complicated by the coronavirus outbreak in January, so how appropriate that he was the man to light up this Europa League tie on a silent, soulless night in Linz.
In a match played behind closed doors in the battle to contain the global pandemic, Ighalo put United on course for a comprehensive win with the opening goal — and what a goal it was.
The Nigerian did not have many options when Bruno Fernandes burst forward in the 28th minute and flicked a pass to him on the edge of the box.
Ighalo juggled the ball with one, two and then three touches before meeting it on the half volley. The ball flew off his left foot and in off the underside of the bar, with LASK goalkeeper Alexander Schlager rooted to the spot.
It was the boyhood United fan’s fourth goal for the club since joining on loan from Shanghai Shenhua. Critics questioned why United would sign a 30-year-old ex-Watford striker — even more so when his arrival from China meant he couldn’t join his new teammates on a warm-weather camp in Marbella or even train at Carrington for the first week.
But Ighalo is proving them wrong and there was no doubting the quality of his goal here.
‘He had three touches and the fourth was the finish,’ said manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. ‘All those touches were high quality but he had to make them to give himself the space. The strike is on the half volley and great timing.
‘No one would have saved that, so anyone would be proud of that finish. Odion has come in really well and he will only get better.’
It was a goal deserving of a bigger stage and certainly more people present to see it.
As it was, there were only 500 inside the Linzer Stadion as part of the Austrian government’s attempt to limit the spread of the virus on a night when Europa League fixtures in Seville and Milan were postponed.
Daniel James’s first goal in 33 games and late strikes from Juan Mata, Mason Greenwood and Andreas Pereira confirmed a United win that effectively guarantees them a place in the quarter-finals if UEFA do not suspend the entire competition before next week’s second leg at Old Trafford. European football’s governing body meet on Tuesday.
It was a shame LASK’s so-called ‘match of the century’ had to be played out in such a way, but United did a professional job.
This was their biggest away win in a knockout match in Europe since 1965 — the same year that LASK won the Austrian title.
The evening began with a minute’s silence for Heribert Trubrig, a veteran of that team, and was followed by 90 more on a night that couldn’t have been more removed from United’s great occasions in Europe.
‘It was a strange feeling,’ said Solskjaer. ‘We are used to playing in front of the best fans in the world. We haven’t practised this before, it’s a weird one.’
United only had Ighalo’s goal to show for their domination in the first half after Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire headed wide from Fernandes corners.
But they went further ahead in the 58th minute when Ighalo fed James who ran at Gernot Trauner and cut inside the LASK skipper before drilling a shot inside Schlager’s right-hand post to register his first goal since August.
Ighalo hit a post following an exquisite flick from Fernandes before Mata exchanged passes with Fred and scored the third.
Tahith Chong provided the pass for United’s other young substitute, Greenwood, to beat Schlager at his near post in added time. If that wasn’t exactly a blunder by the LASK keeper, United’s fifth most certainly was.
Pereira was brought down 30 yards from goal and picked himself up to take a quick free kick to Fred. Pereira got the ball back and tried his luck with a shot that slipped through Schlager’s grasp.
Pereira had come on as a 78thminute substitute for Fernandes, who was instrumental in another fine United performance here.
The prospect of United’s £68million signing playing alongside Paul Pogba is intriguing as the
Frenchman nears his comeback from ankle surgery.
Sportsmail has revealed Pogba is open to signing a new contract at Old Trafford and Solskjaer confirmed: ‘Paul’s our player and he’s got a year plus an option, so you can expect Paul to be here.’
United now head to Tottenham on Sunday having extended their unbeaten run to 11 games — including eight wins and nine clean sheets — equalling their fine start when Solskjaer took over as caretaker boss 15 months ago.
LASK (3-4-3): Schlager 4.5; Ramsebner 5.5, Trauner 4.5, Ranftl 6; Reiter 6, Holland 5.5 (Haudum 76min, 6), Michorl 5, Renner 6; Tetteh (Raguz 61, 6), Klauss 5.5, Frieser 7 (Balic 71, 6). Subs not used: Gebauer, Muller, Wostry, Sabitzer. Booked: Trauner, Klauss, Ramsebner. Manager: Valerien Ismael 5.5. MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Romero 6.5; Williams 6.5, Bailly 6, Maguire 6, Shaw 6; Fred 6.5, McTominay 7; Mata 7, Fernandes 7.5 (Pereira 78, 6.5), James 7 (Chong 71, 6); Ighalo 8 (Greenwood 85). Subs not used: De Gea, Lindelof, Matic, Tuanzebe. Booked: Shaw. Scorers: Ighalo 28, James 58, Mata 82, Greenwood 90+1, Pereira 90+3. Manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 7. Referee: Artur Dias (Por) 7.