Manchester United took a giant stride towards the Europa League final at Stockholm as Marcus Rashford’s free-kick helped clinch a hard-fought victory over Celta Vigo at the Balaidos Stadium. In an open game, both sides missed multiple opportunities before Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock with a sublime free-kick in the second half which left the goalkeeper wrong-footed.
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With an away goal to take back to Old Trafford for the second leg, Jose Mourinho’s side are now favourites to progress to the summit clash at the Friends Arena in Stockholm on May 24.
Here are the talking points from the encounter in Spain:
#1 Manchester United troubled by Pione Sisto – again
One of the duels of the game saw young Danish winger Pione Sisto come up against the experience of Antonio Valencia. United fans will recall Sisto from his exploits during a Round-of-32 tie against Midtjylland when the 22-year old – who played in a number nine role then – scored in both legs and used his pace to give United’s defenders a nightmare.
On this occasion, he was played from out wide and provided a stern test for the Ecuadorian with his fleet-footedness and ability to get the ball near the byline to find himself in a position to deliver a cross.
The youngster also saw a deflected shot narrowly tipped over the crossbar by Sergio Romero. Though his side couldn’t find the net, United have now identified a potential threat to the defence of their lead when the sides clash at Old Trafford next Thursday.
#2 Daniel Wass misses Celta’s best opportunity early in the game
Celta Vigo’s greatest regret coming out of this game will be their inability to finish off their chances and take advantage of a Manchester United defence consisting of a centre-half pairing of Daley Blind and Eric Bailly, the latter had hobbled off against Swansea during the weekend and looked rusty for the majority of the game.
The best opportunity fell for attacking midfielder Daniel Wass in the 12th minute. A perfectly lofted cross from Nemanja Radoja was met by Wass, who managed to sneak through the United defence unmarked. The lack of pace on the cross meant that Wass had time to direct his header on target and out of reach of Romero.
However, the Dane failed to do so and the chance went begging. A Celta Vigo goal so early in the game would have put an injury-hit Manchester United side right on the backfoot, and made a difference in the eventual scoreline.
#3 Paul Pogba stars on return from injury
With resources stretched and the fixture overload taking its toll on the players, what was pleasing to see was a player of the calibre of Paul Pogba making a comeback from injury and delivering an excellent performance on the pitch.
The world-record signing, who missed the league games against Manchester City and Swansea was back and put in a sterling performance! He attempted to get forward and played balls in behind the defence with his trademark lofted passes. He often guided the ball out of United’s defensive area with assurance and nearly caught the goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez out with a long-range free-kick which narrowly missed the target.
The Frenchman did full justice to his free role and managed to play out the full 90 minutes despite this being his first match following an injury.
#4 Manchester United grinding out results in times of jeopardy
A lengthy injury list – especially in central defence – meant that Mourinho had to take the risk of naming a handful of players in the starting line-up who had just recovered from various injuries. Eric Bailly – who was forced to limp off in the 1-1 draw against Swansea on Sunday – was suspect in the initial stages, but appeared to shrug off any signs of fatigue or discomfort on his hamstring with a solid second-half performance.
Paul Pogba starred in midfield, while Chris Smalling – who hadn’t appeared for United since 19 March – came on in the dying moments to see the game out.
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However, United’s ability to grind out important results despite the absence of multiple first-team players showed the character and desire of the players to win this competition and secure a path to next season’s Champions League. Apart from a couple of nervy moments, the defence was generally stable, the midfield was dominant and they created a handful of opportunities to score, either through the middle or in the form of crosses from the full-backs.
Mourinho’s side may well feel that they should have secured a bigger margin of victory had they converted a few more chances – especially Jesse Lingard’s volley which was blasted wide with no Celta defender in between him and goal. However, the positive intent shown by the players will definitely please Mourinho and his coaching staff.
#5 Marcus Rashford is best suited to lead the line
Marcus Rashford’s free-kick may have won the game for United on the night, but in the long-term, not many would argue with the fact that the 19-year old is the best bet to lead the line for the Red Devils. His pace on the break has been one of the sights of the season, and this time, it was full-backs Hugo Mallo and Jonny Castro who had the unforgiving task of tracking back and ensuring that Rashford was not allowed to have a clear go at goal.
His ability to extract even half a yard of space to open up a shooting space is an attribute that is seen in top strikers in the world, as was seen in the first half when his curling effort was parried wide by a diving Alvarez after he had rounded a Celta defender.
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The free-kick that secured the win looked straight off the training ground; as he waited for Daley Blind – who usually takes free-kicks and was expected to do so on this occasion – to run across before letting the ball fly across the width of the goal and past the reach of Alvarez.
The only weakness in Rashford’s game is his tendency to take on defenders on his own when there are passing options available. His decision making while on the charge will only improve with time under Mourinho and his coaching staff.
Thursday’s display at Vigo was yet another example of Rashford displaying his true potential when asked to start at a number nine role rather than in a wide position. Should Zlatan Ibrahimovic decide to leave the club at the end of the season, it would be no surprise to see the young Englishman given the responsibility to start a majority of games upfront.
