Manchester United played out a 1-1 draw with FC Rostov in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 first leg. While Henrikh Mkhitaryan opened the scoring for visitors in the 35th minute, Aleksander Bukharov equalised early in the second half of what was a far from an entertaining match.
The Red Devils will be satisfied with an away goal which holds them in good stead going into the second leg at Old Trafford on March 16. Both the teams failed to stamp their authority on the match and settled for a stalemate with none of the goalkeepers forced into making extravagant saves.
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There was a scarcity of talking points in a dull affair, here are five of the most important of them.
#1 United played a 3-5-2, preparation for Chelsea?
Mourinho named a United side with three central defenders, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo, forming the back-line. While Ashley Young and Daley Blind were deployed as wing-backs, Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera were part of a three-man midfield. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan were the two forwards.
With United’s next fixture an FA Cup tie against Chelsea, Mourinho decided to test a three at the back formation. Tottenham Hotspur quite famously trumped Chelsea and ended their winning streak by playing with a similar formation.
Though Guardiola’s City failed against the Blues using a similar formation, Mourinho seemed to have taken a leaf out of Pochettino’s tactics and it won’t be surprising if a similar formation is used against the Premier League leaders.
#2 Mkhitaryan’s goal a moment of magic in a tiresome first half
With chances hard to come by for both the teams in the first half, the Armenian’s goal came out of nowhere.
Jones played a delightful long ball, which Fellaini chested down and rolled it into Ibrahimovic’s path. The Swede held off a defender to play a cut-back into the box which the former Dortmund midfielder pounced on and rifled the ball in the back of the net.
This away goal might play a big part going into the second leg of the tie and Mkhitaryan will be content as well to get on the scoresheet after returning from a short-term injury.
#3 Bukharov’s equaliser caught United back-three napping
The second half was no different from the first as both the teams failed to string a series of passes after the break. However, a delightful ball from Timofey Kalachev picked out Bukharov perfectly, who slotted it past Romero.
Like umpteen times in the past, United defenders were caught on their heels and paid the price for it. Jones, after giving away a penalty in Unite’s last match, was guilty for this goal as well. The Englishman failed to stop Bukharov from controlling the ball perfectly, who made the most of this chance to get the home side back in the match.
#4 Sub-par pitch conditions the cause of an uninteresting match
United’s manager had pointed out before the match that the pitch conditions were not favourable for a European tie to be played on. The pitch was rock-hard which forced the teams into playing long balls rather than stringing together a series of passes.
This was evident as both the goals scored were the end products of an aerial ball.
"It was a very good performance in relation to the conditions. It was impossible to have the ball and play a passing game. We played what the game demanded and we played well,” Mourinho said after the match.
#5 Rostov can trouble United in the second leg
United came into this match knowing well that the Russians can very well create an upset. Having defeated Bayern Munich and Ajax earlier in the season, Rostov were high on confidence that they can defeat the English side as well.
Though not many conclusions can be drawn out from a match which was badly affected by the sub-par pitch, the hosts did show from their second half performance that they can be a tough nut to track.
With three more shots on target than United, 49% possession and two fewer fouls, the Russian side can take a lot of heart from this performance. United, on the other hand, need to up the ante come March 16 and make sure they progress to the nest round without any hiccups.
