AC Milan 0-1 Manchester United
Written by Ciaran Coyle
A second-half strike from Paul Pogba on his return to the side sends Manchester United through to the Europa League quarter-finals.
The Frenchman had been side-lined for the last few weeks with a muscle injury but was deemed fit enough to start on the bench for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side in the San Siro and made an instant impact when called upon. His composed, close-ranged finish flew past the Milan goalkeeper and proved to be the all-important goal in the tie.
The home side had the best of the chances in the first half as they looked to gain an advantage in the tie, with Alexis Saelemaeker’s shot in the 40th minute being the pick of the first half exchanges from both sides.
After the away side took the lead on the night, it was Dean Henderson in the United goal who was the busiest of the two keepers, with the 24-year-old having to deal with a lot of balls into the area as his side were pinned on the back foot.
Zlatan Ibrahimović was deployed by Stefano Pioli with around an hour gone in the game and the 39-year-old Swede gave the hosts some extra attacking impotence going forward. His best chance came 10 minutes before the end as he towered above Luke Shaw at the back post to head the ball towards goal from close range, but Henderson was equal to it.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis result means Solskjaer’s men go through to the Europa League quarter-finals as they are only one of two British sides to go through to the next round of this competition, with Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur failing to make it through their respective ties.
Sub-edited by Cameron Winstanley.
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