Manchester United take the wrong player off for the right man in Juan Mata
Manchester United cannot fully concentrate on Jadon Sancho just yet in this neverending season. Their exhausting defeat of Copenhagen was so long it almost ticked over to the date that their season started and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Reds will go marching on beyond a 60th game.
This was a nervier night than even the Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken envisaged and United suffered some ominous harbingers. A penalty was overruled, the Video Assistant Referee denied them, Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes pinged both uprights, Anthony Martial was ostentatiously denied by the goalkeeper and there was extra-time.
Harry Maguire was piqued by the French official, Scott McTominay smacked his seat in anger and the United players and staff raised their hands in disbelief at an errant Fernandes pass. If anything summarised the ramshackle performance it was that United nearly substituted the wrong player in the 120th minute.
For the second major match running Martial procured the breakthrough with his tap-dancing feet. It would be churlish to regard the penalty United were awarded - their 21st of this term - as luck when Martial was so obviously brought down to earth and Fernandes, flawless from 12 yards, maintained his immaculate record to make it seven in seven and 11 United goals.
Amid the tiresome posturing over Sancho, United are through to their 18th European semi-final and in the last four of a third competition this calendar year alone. This was always a stepping stone of a season - one for the cups - and United's commitment to ending their trophy drought endures.
Solbakken claimed Copenhagen's chances were 'not great' and that turned out to be false modesty. Guillermo Varela, a starter in Marcus Rashford's first two appearances, threatened to limit United's stay in Germany to one night with his swashbuckling raids, and the Sunderland 'Til I Die star Bryan Oviedo saw a glaring opportunity foiled by Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Brandon Williams put Varela back in his box with a tackle hardened in Harpurhey, accompanied by an accusatory finger following an earlier dive.
Sevilla or Wolves await in a more treacherous straight knockout tie in Cologne on Sunday. Sevilla have lifted the Europa League vase five times in the last 15 years and United's only win against Wolves since they returned to the top flight was in an FA Cup replay they had no interest in participating in. The Europa League offers Wolves a return to the European Cup competition for the first time
Come on boys, 30 minutes. Keep going," Solskjaer stressed at the end of regulation time. It is a lot to ask when Maguire was making his 60th start of the campaign for club and country. The United players' shirts were so drenched in sweat the colour had dampened from scarlet to blood red and Solskjaer checked on Paul Pogba's personal well-being.
Neither Pogba or Fernandes were at their optimum but, in Juan Mata, United had a playmaker who made them pay. His introduction for extra-time was decisive and Martial wasted a probing pass from Mata before he was hauled down in the 94th minute. Mata has been underused since the restart and this was a timely reminder of his enduring class.
The United dugout was immersed in conversation. Michael Carrick, leaning against the dugout, bellowed two 'well done, Fred's and Odion Ighalo urged Greenwood to 'make a run'. Solskjaer is not as animated or vocal as some of his coaching peers and in an empty stadium had difficulty in getting Greenwood's attention to embark on curved runs in behind.
Solskjaer elicited Fred's first recorded use of English after his dithering let in Mohamed Daramy only for Maguire to block the goalbound shot. Solskjaer's use of Fred as the sole holding midfielder contributed to Steven Bergwijn's opener at Tottenham - as well as the Brazilian's demotion - and Fred's selection reinforced the importance of the defensive midfield specialist Nemanja Matic. Solskjaer reminded Fred to 'focus' on forward passes and received the standard 'okay'.
Matic was so curious he and McTominay asked the British press pack whether Maguire was offside for a delivery, only Uefa did not supply monitors in the press box. Not for the first time, Solskjaer used the water break to make a beeline for Pogba and instruct him to play the ball quicker. "If that comes, get it in behind. There are spaces everywhere." The voluble Maguire is becoming Solskjaer's on-pitch lieutenant.
Williams executed a goal-saving header yet the goalkeeping coach Richard Hartis had to remind him to move 'higher' up and offer width. Wan-Bissaka, shaken by an early blow to the face, was equally guilty of such reticence and not for the first time over the last month United were ruing the absence of Luke Shaw.
Their recalled first-teamers lacked rhythm in their first game in 15 days and the bickering between players was a recurring theme of a tepid first-half that ended with the desperate sound of Maguire instructing Fernandes to 'go long' with a free-kick.
Rashford was dilatory in reacting to Solskjaer's instructions until he put Greenwood through to score on the stroke of half-time. Greenwood was offside and the time it took the Video Assistant Referee to chalk off his goal was as bad as the linesman's eyesight. The communication of the check was so non-existent the United players only discovered about it from the journalists sat a few rows behind them.
Greenwood has still not surpassed George Best, Wayne Rooney or Brian Kidd to tally an 18-goal season with United as a teenager and was unfortunate to make way for Mata rather than Rashford. His disallowed goal was sparked by a spontaneous call from Kieran McKenna for United to intensify their pressing and Carrick was still not happy when all 10 outfield players were camped in the Copenhagen half. Fred eventually mimicked Carrick with a perceptive pass and interception.
United had given consideration to resting some of their first XI members from the quarters onwards and Nemanja Matic replaced Fred while Victor Lindelof replaced Eric Bailly to raise the standards. Fred, improving at the time, looked particularly peeved at the timing of his removal.
McTominay did some cheerleading from the sidelines as the tension was ratcheted up by Copenhagen's new lease of life, with Varela willing to abandon his taming of the ineffectual Rashford. United players were warned not to get 'passive' and Maguire, the most-used, was the most demanding of all as extra-time loomed. Five minutes in, there was a boom from the bench and the stands to greet Fernandes's finish.
Sancho can wait.
Goal.com
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