United are installed as favorites to win the Europa League by the bookies, but you wouldn’t have bet on that yesterday. Milan had the ball in the net twice in the first half, though both chalked off by the VAR. United took the lead thanks to a splendid goal by newcomer Diallo but then skipper Maguire made what could be the miss of the season, failing to score from practically on the goal line. James did not fare much better before another open goal. And Henderson must surely blame himself for the rosso neri equalizer, a header aimed straight at him which he failed to palm over.
United had previously played Milan ten times in competitive fixtures, across five separate two-legged ties. Although United had only progressed from one of those knockout affairs – the last, in the equivalent stage of the Champions League in 2010 – both sides have won the same amount of games (five).
My Man of the Match is Amad Diallo who gave a fearless performance in his first complete half of football. He showed superb ingenuity in scoring his first united goal with a looping header. He continued trying hard thereafter, but did not get chances to score. Nevertheless a dream debut and there’s evidently more to come from the youngster.
The Reds and the Rosso Neri boast 10 European Cup/Champions Leagues between them. It is ironic that they had to meet when both are lying in second place in their respective leagues, and both behind their neighbors! Let’s hope for an improvement when we meet in the second leg in Milan, next week.
Article contributed by Contributor Kenneth. Comments are appreciated on our Facebook page.