United's Fine Record In Home Euro Semi-finals

Manchester United are hoping to extend an enviable record in European semi-finals at Old Trafford when facing Celta Vigo on Thursday night.

Jose Mourinho's men take a one-goal lead into the second leg, courtesy of Marcus Rashford's fine free-kick in Spain, and know if defeat can be avoided, a final date will be set up against Ajax or Lyon in Stockholm on 24 May.

History is on the Reds' side as United have only ever suffered one home loss in 15 last-four games in Europe at the Theatre of Dreams. The 1-0 reverse to Borussia Dortmund, in 1997, repeated the scoreline from the first leg as the German side went on to lift the trophy in Munich. It is also the only time the Reds have failed to score in a home European semi-final.

Some of the club's greatest-ever players have scored at this stage in front of the United faithful, and hopefully the current stars can rise to the occasion to provide another night to remember.

United have played 12 European Cup or Champions League semi-finals at home, starting with the 1957 clash with Real Madrid. AC Milan have three times ended the Reds' run in the competition at this stage but lost on each occasion in the Old Trafford leg.

The club's two European Cup-Winners' Cup semi-finals at home both finished in 1-1 draws, a result that ultimately proved insufficient against Juventus in 1984 as Ron Atkinson's injury-hit side bowed out in Turin, but Lee Sharpe's strike, seven years later, helped ensure a smooth passage past Legia Warsaw, en route to winning the trophy in Rotterdam.

In United's only previous foray into the last four of the Europa League or UEFA Cup, during a time when the competition was called the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, it took three ties to decide a winner.
Ferencvaros were beaten 3-2 at Old Trafford before a 1-0 triumph in the second leg ensured a play-off as the away-goals ruling was not yet in operation.

The Hungarians shaded the encounter, in Budapest, and, like Dortmund in the Champions League in 1997, went on to clinch the silverware in the final by overcoming Juventus.

European Cup/Champions League semi-finals at Old Trafford:

25/04/1957 - Real Madrid 2-2 (Taylor, Charlton)
08/05/1958 - AC Milan 2-1 (Viollet, Taylor pen)
20/04/1966 - Partizan Belgrade 1-0 (Stiles)
24/04/1968 - Real Madrid 1-0 (Best)
15/05/1969 - AC Milan 1-0 (Charlton)
23/04/1997 - Borussia Dortmund 0-1
07/04/1999 - Juventus 1-1 (Giggs)
24/04/2002 - Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 (Zivkovic og, van Nistelrooy pen)
24/04/2007 - AC Milan 3-2 (Ronaldo, Rooney 2)
29/04/2008 - Barcelona 1-0 (Scholes)
29/04/2009 - Arsenal 1-0 (O'Shea)
04/05/2011 - Schalke 4-1 (Valencia, Gibson, Anderson 2)

European Cup-Winners' Cup semi-finals at Old Trafford:

11/04/1984 - Juventus 1-1 (Davies)
24/04/1991 - Legia Warsaw 1-1 (Sharpe)

Europa League/UEFA Cup/Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finals at Old Trafford:

31/05/1965 - Ferencvaros 3-2 (Law, Herd 2)

Credit: Manutd.com