Manchester United secured their progress to the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday night with a hard-fought victory against Zorya Luhansk in Odessa.
A stunning individual goal from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and a late clincher from Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw United triumph in freezing conditions at the Chornomorets Stadium on a pitch that was frankly not suitable for European football.
That limited United’s fluency in the first half, with José Mourinho’s side often unable to increase the tempo and find their rhythm on an almost concrete-like surface.
However, that chance in the second half with a moment of brilliance from Mkhitaryan. The Armenian midfielder waltzed past the Zorya defence, nutmegging the last defender before slotting the ball in the bottom corner for his first ever United goal.
Ibrahimovic would go on to seal the result, making no mistake one on one with the goalkeeper after being played through on goal via a wonderful pass from Paul Pogba.
Despite the win, United finished second in Group A, after Fenerbahce beat Feyenoord in Rotterdam through a Moussa Sow bicycle kick. This, of course, means that the Reds will be in the unseeded half of the round of 32 draw on Monday.
Here are the United player ratings:
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