FC ZORYA LUHANSK 0, MANCHESTER UNITED 2
- Manchester United qualify for the final 32 in second place in Group A
- Eric Bailly has his first start since a knee injury in October
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan scores his first goal for United on his 11th appearance
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic makes sure of victory with a late second for the Reds
Manchester United eased their way to the last 32 of the Europa League with a 2-0 victory away to Zorya in Ukraine.
It was their first away win in European competition since a 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen in November 2013 but the game had looked in doubt the night before with the pitch looking cold and hard.
The Reds easily dominated the game but familiar frailties appeared to be returning to haunt them as they found it difficult to carve out clear-cut chances early on .
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had previously scored a hat trick in the Chornomorets Stadium for Borussia Dortmund and was inspired to finally open his United account on his 11th appearance for the club.
It was a classy goal for a classy player after Armenian captain drove deep into Zorya territory with the ball from his own half before pulling the trigger soon after the restart.
With a goal to add to his two assists in three consecutive starts for United, the confidence can only grow for the rejuvenated midfielder who lined up alongside Eric Bailly who was making his start since a knee injury in October.
Sergio Romero retained their lead with a second half save before Zlatan Ibrahimovic confirmed victory with an 88th minute goal to calm the Reds’ nerves but they will go into the last 32 as favourites to win the competition.
As an unseeded team, due to finishing second in Group A behind Fenerbahce, United could face Europa League group winners including: Apoel Nicosia, St Etienne, Zenit St Petersburg, Roma, Athletic Bilbao, Ajax, Shakhtar Donetsk, Schalke, Fiorentina, Sparta Prague, and Osmanlispor plus seeded Champions League sides who finished third this week including FC Copenhagen, Lyon and Besiktas.