It was a tense second leg between two of Europe’s elite but in the end, it was Manchester United who beat AC Milan to progress into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League. It was an early second half goal that won the day as the Red Devils gear up for a hopeful run towards the final of the competition.
The Pogba effect
Paul Pogba came on the pitch and then just a few minutes later, he scored the goal that proved to be the winner for Manchester United. The Frenchman has earned himself plenty of critics over the course of the last few years and that’s not always been unjustified, but he was able to shut up his haters in a big way last night. Outside of the goal he definitely struggled in parts but when push came to shove, he came up with the goods, which is what an elite-level player of his stature needs to do.
Milan’s growth
Even though they’ve gone out of the Europa League and even though Zlatan Ibrahimovic couldn’t come back to haunt his former club, there was still a lot to like about AC Milan’s performance. They were the ones who went forward and really threatened for long spells and while that means very little right now, they should take confidence in what they’ve done so far this season – because there’s a very good chance they could carry this momentum into a potential Champions League run during the next campaign.
United for the Europa?
Manchester United are now priced at 7/4 with 888sport to win the Europa League this season, officially making the favourites ahead of Arsenal, Ajax and Roma. There are still some notably big teams in the mix heading into the final eight and there’s no way of getting around that, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be feeling pretty confident right now – especially after Tottenham went out to Dinamo Zagreb. This is probably going to be their best route to a piece of silverware this season and if he can pull it off, it’ll mean big things for the club heading into the summer.
Match Report
AC Milan: Donnarumma (6.5), Hernandez (6.5), Tomori (6.5), Kjaer (6.5), Kalulu (6.5), Kessie (7), Meite (6.5), Krunic (6.5), Calhanoglu (7), Saelemaekers (6.5), Castillejo (6), Ibrahimovic (6), Diaz (6), Dalot (6)
Manchester United: Henderson (7.5), Wan-Bissaka (7.5), Lindelof (7.5), Maguire (7.5), Shaw (6.5), McTominay (7.5), Fred (7.5), James (7), Fernandes (7), Rashford (6.5), Greenwood (7), Pogba (8)
Referee: Dr. Felix Brych
Goals: Pogba
Yellow Cards: Kalulu, Dalot, Kjaer, Hernandez, Shaw
Red Cards: N/A
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