Mata takes Man Utd into Europa League quarter-finals

The Spanish midfielder's only goal helped the "Red Devils" defeat Rostov 1-0 at home, thereby winning 2-1 overall after two matches.

Mata scored the only goal of the match. Photo: Reuters.

Drawing 1-1 away from home in the first leg, Man Utd only needed to maintain a 0-0 draw to qualify for the next round. However, the huge difference in class allowed Jose Mourinho's students to have a leisurely match. Despite only scoring one goal, Man Utd created countless opportunities, including one time when Ibrahimovic hit the post in the penalty area when 2/3 of the first half had passed. A few minutes earlier, Henrikh Mkhitaryan's lob from a one-on-one position with the goalkeeper went wide of the goal.

Having wasted many chances, this was an unconvincing victory for Man Utd. Before Mata scored, the home team would have even conceded a goal if goalkeeper Sergio Romero had not had a great reflex to block Serdar Azmoun's shot.

Mata's goal came from a cross from Antonio Valencia, a simple attack that has saved United on several occasions this season. Ibrahimovic marked his return with a sublime backheel pass that put his teammate in a perfect position to score. The Swedish striker has been banned for three matches by the FA but will still be available to play in Europe.

Man Utd missed many scoring opportunities in this match. Photo: Reuters.

After scoring, Man Utd did not create any good chances. On the contrary, Rostov almost equalized and dragged the match to extra time. In the fourth minute of injury time, Christian Noboa launched a free kick in an arc aimed at the top corner of the goal but Romero once again successfully saved it.

One thing that Mourinho is worried about after this match is Paul Pogba's injury. The French midfielder left the field in the 48th minute, replaced by Marouane Fellaini, and showed signs of hamstring pain. In the post-match press conference, Mourinho confirmed that Pogba will miss the match against Middlesbrough and cannot join the French team due to this injury.

Unlike the first leg when he used a 3-5-2 formation with three central midfielders Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Pogba, Mourinho switched to a 3-4-3 formation in this match. This is a tactic that coach Antonio Conte is successfully applying at Chelsea.

Christian Noboa's dangerous free kick late in the match. Photo: Reuters.

Mourinho used the central midfield pair of Herrera and Pogba, the three central defenders continued to be Eric Baily, Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo, the two attacking defenders were Valencia and Daley Blind. In the last 30 minutes of the match, Mourinho even let central defender Phil Jones replace Blind's wing position.

Having had 69% possession and 16 shots to their opponents' six, Man Utd's dominance in these figures will mean nothing if their opponents take one of the chances they create. The Red Devils need to improve their finishing if they are to win the Europa League.

The Europa League quarter-final draw will take place right after the Champions League quarter-final draw at 6pm on March 17 (Hanoi time). Most of the teams that have made it to this round are inferior to Man Utd in both reputation and squad quality.

According to VNE