Manchester United 3 Saint-Etienne 0: Zlatan Ibrahimovic nets first United hat-trick against the team who have let him score more times than any other

SAINT-ETIENNE were terrorised by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and not for the first time in the Swede's career.

Ibrahimovic netted his first hat-trick for Man United to bring his tally against the French side to 17 - five more than any other opponent he has played against.

The former PSG man celebrated his first goal as if he had won the World Cup, but it was far from his most memorable.

A deflected free kick wrong-footed the entire Saint-Etienne defence, who could only watch as the ball dribbled agonisingly over the line.

At kick-off, the noisy away section was lit up by so many flares you would think it was November 5, but on the pitch the flair was provided by Ibrahimovic.

Always in the right place at the right time, he made up for a poor first half miss on 75 minutes when he tapped in United's second.

And when the Swede was tripped in the box two minutes from time, nobody was taking the ball off him as he coolly slotted into the bottom corner from the spot.

Paul Pogba squandered a golden opportunity to claim brotherly bragging rights over elder sibling Florentin when he nodded a free header against the bar.

But he still had a better night than the Saint-Etienne Pogba, who limped off injured with ten minutes left on an emotional evening for the family.

STATS, FACTS, GOALS & LOLS

• Mourinho had to have a re-think before the game as Henrikh Mkhitaryan was forced to pull-out due to illness. He had started the four previous games.
• St Etienne will surely face a UEFA fine for the flares their fans produced before the game. How did they manage to smuggle so many into the stadium.
• Yeo Moriba was about the only person in the stadium hoping for a draw. The mother of the Pogba boys Paul and Florentin had made it clear it was impossible for her to pick a winner.

• Florentin's twin brother Mathias - might have felt the same way. He was sat in a private box with their mum watching the game.
• They were determined to enjoy their night out though - what a racket the travelling contingent of around 3500 made all night.
• United have never lost a home game to French opponents in European competition - winning nine of their 13 ties in the past.
• Zlatan has scored 16 goals in 14 games against St Etienne. He has more goals against the Greens than any other club side.
• He has 22 for the season now - that's 12 more than any of his Old Trafford team-mates.
  

   

• Ibra will not score a scruffier one all season - how the French side failed to deal with it is anyone's guess. There was a big question over whether it should have been awarded in the first place.
• However the Swede has more reason than most to want to reach the final of this unloved competition - the final is due to be played in Stockholm.
• St Etienne had 11 shots in their impressive first half showing - but failed to hit the target with any of them. Shooting practice needed.
• Paul Pogba caught the eye more than his older brother Florentin at left-back. Mind you, he did cost around 267 times more money than the £325,000 bargain buy.
• The second leg of this game is being played on Wednesday due to deadly rivals Lyon also being drawn at home on the same night - and they got first pick.

BIG PICTURE

DREAM TEAM EUROPE RATINGS

MAN UNITED: Romero 6, Valencia 7, Smalling 7, Bailly 7, Blind 8, Mata 7 (Rashford 70, 6), Herrera 7, Fellaini 6 (Lingard 46, 6), Martial 7 (Young 84, 6), P Pogba 7, Ibrahimovic 10

Subs not used: De Gea, Darmian, Rojo, Schweinsteiger

Booked: Herrera, Martial, P Pogba, Lingard

Goals: Ibrahimovic 15', 75', 88'

SAINT-ETIENNE: Ruffier 6, Malcuit 6, Perrin 6, Theophile-Catherine 5, F Pogba 6 (Beric 79, 5), Jorginho 5 (Roux 65, 5), Veretout 7, Pajot 6 (Selnaes 72, 5), Monnet-Paquet 6, Saivet 6, Hamouma 6

Subs not used: Moulin, Lacroix, Lemoine, Pierre-Gabriel

Booked: Pajot

STAR MAN: ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC (Man United)

SOCIAL SAYS

WHAT THEY SAID

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said he was pleased with the result but will show Saint-Etienne the appropriate respect in the second leg.

He commented: “I’m happy with the result. It’s not over but it’s a good result.

“It’s a good rest for [suspended] Herrera [next week] but I am always respectful. I don’t want my team to be punished so I will go with a strong team.”

But the Special one added that United's first half performance was unacceptable, saying: “Lack of concentration. I had the feeling immediately in the dressing room, too noisy, too funny, too relaxed.

"My assistants had the feeling in the warm-up, some of the guys were not focused on getting the right adrenaline in their bodies. The game started and the first thing we did was a back-pass to the striker.

“The first-half was hard. Even myself on the touchline, it was difficult to communicate. Second-half different story.”