Manchester United 1 Celta Vigo 1 (2-1 agg): Paul Pogba seriously missed when he’s not there and Marcus Rashford a star in the making
Marouane Fellaini's goal proved enough for the Red Devils to get to Stockholm, but a nervy end showed there's work to do
MANCHESTER UNITED reached the Europa League final for the first time in their history — just.
Ahead and cruising through Marouane Fellaini's first-half goal, Facundo Roncaglia equalised late on before being sent off moments later an incident which also saw Eric Bailly red carded.
Celta Vigo then pushed for the goal that would see them through right until the final seconds, but it wasn't enough.
Like with the rest of United's season, they produced the absolute minimum acceptable — but they will face Ajax for the chance to make history.
most read in football
Here are five things we learnt.
Guidetti’s lows and further lows
The former Manchester City and Celtic striker had an eventful end to the game.
He embarrassingly threw himself to the ground in the melee which saw Bailly and Roncaglia sent off.
And with the last chance of the game, he had the chance to send his side to Stockholm — but fluffed his lines.
Fellaini a scorer of big goals
The Belgian has now scored in the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League this season for United.
Furthermore, he has scored important semi-final goals in each of the latter three over the past two seasons.
Fellaini has been a constant source of criticism for Red Devils fans, but he certainly has his skills.
Blind faith
Daley Blind increased the pressure with a nervy pass which put his side under pressure early on — and it only got worse from there for him.
He regularly gave the ball away and sometimes seemed to stop and seemed to invent new ways to make mistakes.
Whether it’s weighing up a pass and then delivering it straight to the opposition or bizarrely mishit clearances, with the Dutchman in the side, United fans are always a little more nervous.
Rashford is the real deal
What is most astounding about this lad is that he keeps on pulling out new strings to his bow.
Last week, he scored directly from a free-kick and this week he set up Fellaini with an inch-perfect cross.
With each performance, he’s making a stronger case to be United’s No.1 centre-forward next season.
Pogba does give United something special
His assists and goals tally may be low, but he’s missed when he’s not there.
Forget the fancy tricks, it’s the way Paul Pogba makes the transition from defence to attack at lightning speed that makes him so good.
Playing in a United side with confidence, he could once again become a world-beater.