Brilliant Marcus Rashford free-kick gets Manchester United in front
The away goal could prove crucial ahead of next week’s return fixture at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford’s splendid free-kick secured Manchester United a hard-fought win at Celta Vigo to edge Jose Mourinho’s men closer to the Europa League final.
England’s last European representatives have travelled far and wide in their bid to win the only major continental trophy to have eluded them in their success-laden history.
Europa League glory also offers a route back to the Champions League – an increasingly important option given their Premier League struggles – and Mourinho’s men are in the driving seat of this semi-final after Rashford’s fine free-kick secured a 1-0 first-leg win at Celta.
The away goal could prove crucial ahead of next week’s return fixture at Old Trafford, where the Spanish side face an uphill battle to progress from their first major European semi-final.
Tweet of the match
Star man – Sergio Alvarez
The Celta goalkeeper kept the visitors at bay for 67 minutes with a series of great saves, with his first-half stop to deny Rashford a particular highlight. The England international hit a rasping drive which the 30-year-old did well to tip over the bar before thwarting Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to keep the scores level at half-time. He was beaten by a wonderful free-kick by Rashford to break the deadlock, with question marks over his positioning, but he managed to keep the hosts in contention for the second leg next week.
Stat-o-mania
Mourinho came up trumps in the first ever meeting between the two sides in what was also Celta’s first European semi-final. United had managed to win just twice on their previous 22 trips to Spain, but defied the statistics to claim victory. United have never won the Europa League, even in its previous guise as the UEFA Cup, and will become only the fourth team to have won all three major UEFA club trophies, including the now-defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup, as well as the Club World Cup or the Intercontinental Cup, should they go on to win the competition.
View from the bench
Mourinho is desperate for United to be playing Champions League football next season and the Portuguese will be happy to take a slender advantage back to Old Trafford. United could have been out of sight had they showed more composure, with Lingard and Mkhitaryan guilty of spurning gilt-edged chances. But United got a crucial away goal, which Mourinho will know should give them the platform to book their place in the Europa League final in Stockholm on May 24.
Player ratings
Who’s up next?
Malaga v Celta Vigo (LaLiga, Sunday May 7)
Arsenal v Manchester United (Premier League, Sunday May 7)
