Manchester United 1 Rostov 0: Juan Mata’s strike sends Red Devils through but Paul Pogba and Daley Blind both go off injured while Phil Jones is seen using an inhaler

MANCHESTER UNITED limped into the Europa League quarter-finals with an unconvincing win over a defensive Rostov side.

And victory came at a heavy price for Jose Mourinho's men as Paul Pogba and Daley Blind both went off injured.

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Juan Mata scored the only goal of the game on 70 minutes just as the Red Devils were starting to look nervous.

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The first half was much more promising for United as they created a number of chances.

They were denied a penalty for what looked like a push on Henrikh Mkhitaryan by Rostov goalkeeper Nikita Medvedev, although the Armenian went down easily.

And things then got more frustrating for Mkhitaryan as he pulled a one-on-one wide.

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Ibrahimovic then saw a shot cannon off the post on 35 minutes as the Russian side lived increasingly dangerously.

A surprisingly difficult second half for the Red Devils became even more uncomfortable when Paul Pogba went off with a hamstring injury on 48 minutes.

And Daley Blind joined Pogba on the treatment table, going off with a suspected concussion on the hour.

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With 20 minutes left, United made the breakthrough to the relief of the home crowd.

Mkhitaryan crossed the ball for Ibrahimovic, who produced a classy flick for Juan Mata to tap into the roof of the net.

But there was still time for another injury scare as Phil Jones was seen puffing an inhaler.

And after a busy fixture schedule, Jose Mourinho's side struggled for energy in the dying minutes.

The Special One was seen passing a banana to substitute Ashley Young, who handed it to Marcos Rojo.

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And Rostov nearly managed to force extra time with the last kick of the game.

Captain Christian Noboa curled a free kick towards the top corner and saw it brilliantly plucked away by Sergio Romero.

STATS, FACTS, GOALS AND LOLS

• Rostov turned up with only four subs - the Russian side were hit by a raft of injuries and suspensions meaning three of the spots remained unfilled.
• Former United striker Dimitar Berbatov was in the directors box - with a very glamorous female companion. He could have got a game for Rostov if he'd brought his boots.
• The visitors had 300 noisy fans cheering them on - although only a handful had made the journey from Russia, most of them were ex-pats now living in the UK.
• This is only the fifth time United have hosted a Russian team at Old Trafford in European competition.
• There were a few sniggers before the game when Alex Ferguson was waving to a local journalist and bumped into a door frame on his way into the directors' area.

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• The Red Devils were unbeaten in their last 15 home European ties at the Theatre of Dreams going into this one. No wonder they were hot favourites.
• Luke Shaw could not even make the 18 on the day he was recalled to the England squad. Gareth Southgate clearly sees something Jose Mourinho doesn't.
• Paul Pogba was having another underwhelming night when he pulled up with a hamstring injury early in the second half. Some fans had been saying he needed a break - now he'll get one.
• Pogba has started 40 games for United this season - more than any other player. It will be interesting to see how they get on without him.
• Ibrahimovic had a hand in the opening goal - meaning he has been directly involved in at least one goal in each of his four Europa League ties at Old Trafford.
• Daley Blind got injured too - so maybe there will be another chance for Shaw on Sunday. The former Southampton man probably won't hold his breath though.

BIG PICTURE

PLAYER RATINGS

MANCHESTER UNITED: Romero 7, Bailly 7, Smalling 7, Rojo 7 (Jones 64, 6), Valencia 7, Pogba 7 (Fellaini 48, 7), Herrera 7, Mata 7, Blind 6, Mkhitaryan 6, Ibrahimovic 8

Subs not used: De Gea, Lingard, Carrick, Young, Rashford

Goals: Mata 70'

ROSTOV: Medvedev 6, Bayramyan 6 (Kireev 81), Mevlja 6, Navas 6, Kudryashov 6, Terentyev 6, Noboa 7, Prepelita 5 (Devic 79, 6), Erokhin 6, Poloz 6, Azmoun 6 (Bukharov 61, 6)

Subs not used: Goshev

Booked: Bukharov

STAR MAN: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)

SOCIAL SAYS

WHAT THEY SAID

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho opened up about the club's injury crisis and fumed at the fixture scheduling.

He said: "Paul [Pogba] has a muscular injury. Daley [Blind] I don’t know, I will have to see what happened.

"I imagine some people were saying we should play better, we should score more goals, we should not have so many difficulties to beat these opponents.

"But the reality is we have lots, lots of things going against us so we have to fight.

"The boys are amazing boys and probably we lose the game on Sunday but we will try our best."