Talking Points From Europa Win

Manchester United progressed to the Europa League Round of 16 by clinching an excellent 4-0 aggregate win over Saint-Etienne at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. ManUtd.com’s Mark Froggatt was in eastern France to observe and assess the key talking points from the game…

1: STRONG TEAM FROM THE BOSS
Jose Mourinho believed the tie was not over after the 3-0 first-leg win at Old Trafford and he stayed true to a promise that he’d name a strong team. Yes, David De Gea was on the bench, but influential figures Michael Carrick, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all started, suggesting the EFL Cup final on Sunday was not at the forefront of the manager’s mind. Thankfully, Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s early goal meant the Reds could ultimately ease through the second leg without too much duress.

2: MIXED EMOTIONS FOR MKHITARYAN
The midfield Armenian broke the deadlock on 16 minutes with a deft finish from Juan Mata’s cross, bagging his sixth goal of the season and a second in Europe after a strike at Zorya Luhansk. His elation was shortlived, however, as Marcus Rashford replaced him only nine minutes later due to an apparent injury. Michael Carrick was also withdrawn through injury and Mourinho fears both players will miss the trip to Wembley.

3: A VISCERAL, MESMERIC ATMOSPHERE
Much had been made of the atmosphere found at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, known as The Cauldron, and this match certainly lived up to the hype. The scenes at kick-off were particularly spectacular as a giant, illuminous surfer flag of a Grim Reaper emerged at one end, while a mosaic spelling '1992' appeared at the other, with the two main stands decorated in green and white scarves. United handled the hostility by taking an early lead, but that did not silence the din of the Saint-Etienne fans.

4: PAUL 2 FLORENTIN 0
That is the score in matches between the two Pogba brothers, although both are already winners for sharing a pitch at the professional level (and we’re sure Mrs Pogba will agree!). They rarely came together during the game itself, yet there was a nice moment before the warm-ups when they were joined in conversation at pitchside by Sir Bobby Charlton, who naturally knows what it is like to face a sibling in light of his previous fixtures against older brother Jack.

5: BAILLY SUSPENDED
After earning two yellow cards in three second-half minutes, centre-back Eric Bailly will now miss the Europa League Round of 16 first-leg tie on Thursday 9 March. Some fans had worried he would miss Sunday’s EFL Cup final, but the one-match ban is for European and not domestic competition.

6: WHO IS NEXT FOR UNITED?
The draw for the next round is scheduled to take place in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday. United will be joined by Schalke and Krasnodar, with the remaining 13 berths set to be filled when the Round of 32 is completed on Thursday.