Juan Mata’s second-half tap-in was enough to give Manchester United a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford and a 2-1 win on aggregate to put them through to the last eight of the UEFA Europa League.
After their loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup earlier this week, manager Jose Mourinho had promised to go full-tilt at the Europa League, as United face a fight to qualify for the Champions League through the Premier League places and know that a win in Europe’s second tier club competition will book a place in the group stages of next year’s competition.
He certainly selected a full-strength line-up against the Russians, who finished eighth in their domestic league this season, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata all started.
The first half saw the hosts dominate possession and make lots of passes but with little end product, as Rostov kept their defensive shape intact. The closest either team came to scoring was when Ibrahimovic crashed his shot against the frame of the goal, as United were kept at bay.
Rostov, which lost two hard-fought, close matches to Atletico Madrid in the group stages of this year’s Champions League, looked to attack with more intent in the second half as the precocious Serdar Azmoun tested Sergio Romero from distance. Romero would be far more busier in the second half than he was in the first.
United would finally score when Juan Mata had the easiest of finishes after being set up by Ibrahimovic flick off Mkhitaryan’s ball into the box. The Russians, then needing a goal to send the tie into extra time, would throw bodies forward in an attempt to score as both Paul Pogba and Daley Blind would be taken off, unable to continue.
Visiting captain Noboa’s freekick was kept out by Romero in the dying seconds of the match, as United scraped through to the quarterfinals, ending Rostov’s 14-game European journey this season.
They will be joined by Besiktas, Celta Vigo, Genk, Ajax, Anderlecht, Schalke and Lyon. While Schalke scored two in the second half to eliminate compatriots Borussia Monchengladbach on away goals after the tie ended 3-all, Lyon lost 2-1 to Roma at the Stadio della Roma but clung on to a 5-4 aggregate victory over the Italians.
Brief Scores:
Manchester United 1 (Juan Mata) beat FK Rostov 0
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