Manchester United has qualified for the quarter finals of the Europa League with a narrow victory. The away game with AC Milan ended in a 1-1 draw, so a 0-1 win in San Siro was sufficient for the team of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Paul Pogba, who came back into action for the first time since February 6, was crowned match winner by scoring from close range three minutes after his raid. Donny van de Beek also returned to the match selection, although the former Ajax player remained on the bench for ninety minutes.
Trainer Stefano Pioli was able to use Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the first time since the game on 28 February with AS Roma (1-2 win), who was unable to take action due to a muscle injury in his left thigh. However, the Swede was not yet fit enough to start in the base. Just like Pogba, who returned to the match selection of the Red Devils and started on the couch. Although the football before the break, especially from United’s side, was not aesthetically pleasing, it was the visitors who caused the first danger of the match.
Already in the second minute of play, Mason Greenwood escaped the attention of the Milan defense on the right flank, although his cross did not yield the desired result. After fifteen minutes of play, Bruno Fernandes contributed with a shot from the edge of the box, but the Portuguese did not get his bet between the posts. Midway through the first act, United came close to the hostile goal for the last time, when Daniel James hoped to score a penalty after a tackle from Franck Kessié; referee Felix Brych, however, decidedly dismissed the appeal from the winger. Milan recorded the greatest chance for the halftime signal through Alexis Saelemaekers.
After good combination football, the ball ended up at Saelemaekers’ feet within the box, but the shot that followed was nicely tapped from the bottom right corner by goalkeeper Dean Henderson. Marcus Rashford was clearly not in good shape with only sixteen touches, so manager Solskjaer decided to replace him for Pogba at half time. That decision had the desired effect three minutes after the resumption. After several failed attempts by Milan to play himself away from the pressure of the opponent in his own sixteen, Pogba got the ball on the edge of the five-meter area in front of his right foot. After a false kick, a real shot followed, with which the Frenchman scored the 0-1 and his first European goal of the season.
After more than an hour of play, the unfortunate Samu Castillejo had to leave the field for Ibrahimovic, who showed himself ten minutes after his substitution. From a cross Hakan Çalhanoglu, the striker headed hard on goal, but Henderson managed to keep his team going with an excellent reflex. In the final quarter, the English fell even further and Milan tried several times to force a breakthrough, although the attack spirit no longer yielded a hit.