15 Games To Europa League Glory

Manchester United successfully negotiated a long route to winning the UEFA Europa League, spanning 15 matches from September to December and February through May. Here's a recap of every round as we continue to savour the final victory over Ajax in Stockholm...

GROUP STAGE

15 Sep - Feyenoord, Away, 0-1
United kicked off the 2016/17 Europa League campaign in disappointing fashion after a controversial late strike from Tonny Vilhena sealed a 1-0 victory for Feyenoord in Group A. Replays appeared to show the creator of the winning goal, Nicolai Jorgensen, in an offside position, but play was allowed to continue and Vilhena fired home. Clear chances had been few and far between before that on a balmy night in Rotterdam, a city with great European memories for United fans after the Cup Winners’ Cup triumph in 1991. This latest visit was not to end in the Reds’ favour.

29 Sep - Zorya Luhansk, Home, 1-0
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s second-half goal was enough to give Jose Mourinho's men a crucial Europa League victory over Zorya Luhansk. United were frustrated for long periods of the game but found the all-important breakthrough 20 minutes from time, as the striker headed home at the back post. Having kept the Reds at bay for so long, Zorya were visibly disappointed, and almost conceded again when Marouane Fellaini volleyed over with time running out. The away side had a late chance through Aleksandr Karavayev, but Sergio Romero saved comfortably to ensure a vital victory.

20 Oct - Fenerbahce, Home, 4-1
United boosted the bid for a place in the Europa League knockout stages with a convincing 4-1 victory over the visitors from Turkey. The Reds took a while to get going before penalties from Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial – and another stunning effort from Pogba – gave the hosts a firm first-half cushion. The impressive Jesse Lingard added further gloss shortly after the break and, although Robin van Persie scored on his anticipated Old Trafford return, Jose Mourinho’s men earned a second win in Group A to sit second at the halfway point, a fortnight before the return meeting with Fenerbahce.

03 Nov - Fenerbahce, Away, 1-2
The hosts in Istanbul ensured it was seven European away games without a win for United as the Turkish side leapfrogged both the Reds and Feyenoord to go top of Group A with a 2-1 triumph. Two brilliant goals won the game for the hosts, an incredible second-minute overhead kick from Moussa Sow and a sweetly struck free-kick from Jeremain Lens after the break. Wayne Rooney, back in the team up front, fired a similarly stunning goal as the game drew to a close, but it was too late to prevent United slipping to third place in the Europa League table.

24 Nov - Feyenoord, Home, 4-0
United remained in control of the club's Europa League destiny with one group game to play as Wayne Rooney made history in a dominant 4-0 win over Feyenoord. The captain became the Reds' all-time leading scorer in Europe on 39 goals with a composed finish to give his team a deserved 1-0 lead at the break. In the second half, Juan Mata slid home his fifth goal of the season to double the lead before Zlatan Ibrahimovic laid on the third strike of the night as his cross was diverted into his own net by Feyenoord's goalkeeper Brad Jones. Substitute Jesse Lingard capped off a stunning move with a glorious curling shot in stoppage time, as Jose Mourinho’s men ran out comfortable winners following a fine all-round display.

8 Dec - Zorya Luhansk, Away, 2-0
United booked a place in the Round of 32 after a deserved 2-0 victory over bottom-of-the-group Zorya in Odessa. The Reds only needed a point to progress but Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first goal for the club set the course for a comfortable win which was sealed late on by Zlatan Ibrahimovic's well-taken finish. Elsewhere in Group A, Fenerbahce triumphed 1-0 at Feyenoord, meaning Jose Mourinho’s men went into the draw as group runners-up.

ROUND OF 32

16 Feb - Saint-Etienne, Home, 3-0
22 Feb - Saint-Etienne, Away, 1-0 (Aggregate score 4-0)
United took a huge step towards the last 16 as Ibrahimovic scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 3-0 win over Saint-Etienne. The no.9 claimed the first when his low free-kick deflected in on 15 minutes before tucking home from close range and adding a late penalty to seal the treble, taking his tally at the time to 23 goals in all competitions. In the second leg, the Reds wrapped up a convincing 4-0 aggregate win with Mkhitaryan's strike in the 16th minute and a composed performance by the full team at the intimidating Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

ROUND OF 16

9 Mar - Rostov, Away, 1-1
16 Mar - Rostov, Home, 1-0 (Aggregate score 2-1)
United gained a slender advantage in the first leg after Mkhitaryan scored for  the third successive Europa League away game, converting from close range 10 minutes before half-time. Aleksandr Bukharov equalised early in the second period as the hosts grew into the tie but, in tricky conditions at the Olimp-2 stadium in southern Russia, Mourinho’s side delivered another professional overseas display. In the second leg, Juan Mata scored the solitary goal with 20 minutes remaining, to complete an accomplished 2-1 aggregate triumph. United's top two scorers in the competition combined to set up the strike, with Ibrahimovic flicking Mkhitaryan’s low cross into the Spaniard's path.

QUARTER-FINALS

13 Apr - Anderlecht, Away, 1-1
20 Apr - Anderlecht, Home, 2-1 (Aggregate score 3-2)
For the second knockout round in a row, Mkhitaryan gave United an away-leg lead, only for the hosts to equalise in what was still a respectable 1-1 draw for the Reds. The Armenian's opener again arrived shortly before the break as he netted from an acute angle but the hosts' response came much later this time, with Leander Dendoncker’s powerful header four minutes from the end keeping the tie alive. Henrikh was also on hand to put the Reds ahead early in the second leg but when Sofiane Hanni levelled the aggregate score and the away goal tallies just after the half-hour mark, it led to a longer than expected contest at Old Trafford. United eventually won on the night, thanks to Marcus Rashford's extra-time turn and finish, but in the process lost two players for the rest of the campaign through injury, Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo.

SEMI-FINALS

4 May - Celta Vigo, Away, 1-0
11 May - Celta Vigo, Home, 1-1 (Aggregate score 2-1)
United's matchwinner against Anderlecht, Rashford, edged the Reds another step closer to the final when his sublime second-half free-kick sealed a slender 1-0 away win in sunny north-west Spain. It was the 19th goal for the no.19 who, despite being aged only 19, led the attack admirably in the absence of Ibrahimovic. Romero's clean sheet represented an improvement on the two previous away-leg scores and when Marouane Fellaini's first-post header at home put the Reds 2-0 up on aggregate, it seemed the hosts would steam through to Stockholm. However, a fiery last five minutes, caused by Facundo Roncaglia's late leveller and the subsequent red cards for him and United's Eric Bailly, plunged the outcome into doubt until John Guidetti spurned a last-gasp chance to snatch it for Celta. The full-time whistle followed, enabling the mightily-relieved Reds to reflect on what Ander Herrera called a "crazy game" and to relish the club's first European final for six years - the UEFA Europa League final against Ajax on 24 May.

FINAL

24 May - AFC Ajax, Neutral, 2-0
United claimed a third trophy of the season and a first ever UEFA Europa League triumph thanks to goals in either half from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and while this victory marked a superb end to a long campaign, for many reasons it meant so much more. Yes, it completed United’s set of all-time silverware; yes, it put the Reds back in the Champions League next season, but most importantly this was a success dedicated to the people of Manchester following the terror attack in the city 48 hours earlier. The opening strike was a particularly poignant moment for Pogba too. The Frenchman, arguably the Reds’ best player in the opening half, lost his dad just over a week before the final and he pointed to the heavens after seeing his deflected effort sail in. The second was a historic one for the club as Mkhitaryan netted his fifth European goal away from Old Trafford - the biggest such tally from one United player in a single season.