Manchester United defeated Astana 1-0 in the first match of Group L in the 2019 Europa League. With Argentine players Sergio Romero in goal and Marcos Rojo in defense, the 'Red Devils' kept a clean sheet at Old Trafford, but for many minutes they were unable to breach the Astana's net.
Greenwood, 17, dribbled past a defender from the Kazakh team inside the area before shooting low with his right foot from a tight angle to beat the visiting goalkeeper through his legs. This way, he became the youngest goal scorer in the history of Manchester United in European competition.
The young forward scored his first goal in an official match with his team, although he had already shown his goal-scoring ability in friendly matches during the preseason against Leeds and Inter Milan.
This is the second narrow victory at home for United, following the one achieved last weekend in the Premier League against Leicester. However, this Thursday, coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made nine changes compared to the match against the 'Foxes'.
This narrow victory allows Manchester United, winner of the Europa League in 2017, to take the lead in their group with three points, after the 2-2 draw between Partizan Belgrade and Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
Manchester United vs. Astana: the line-ups
Manchester United: Romero, Dalot, Tuanzebe, Jones, Rojo, Matic, Fred, Chong, Gomes, Greenwood, Rashford
Astana: Eric; Shomko, Simunovic, Postnikov, Rukavina; Maevski, Tomasevic; Tomasov, Sigurjonsson, Rotariu; Murtazayev.
Manchester United vs. Astana: match schedules:
14:00 hours - Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, United States (Chicago) (New York +1, Washington +1, Florida +1, Nevada -2)
15:00 hours - Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile
16:00 hours - Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil
20:00 hours - United Kingdom
21:00 hours - Spain, Italy, France, Germany
After using practically the same starting eleven for the first five matches of the Premier League, where his team is currently in fourth place with eight points, two wins, two draws and one loss, Solskjaer will make changes in order to manage his resources well for other challenges.
The Norwegian coach revealed before the match that Sergio Romero, Axel Tuanzebe, and Mason Greenwood will be starters in Manchester United's debut against the Kazakh team, while Diogo Dalot, Eric Bailly, Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, and Anthony Martial, who were not present in the victory last Saturday against Leicester due to physical problems, are still doubtful and could be reserved for the league visit to West Ham.
Astana, under the management of Roman Hryhorchuk, comes from a 2-1 victory over Shakhter Karagandy, a result that moved them up to third place in the table of the top category of Kazakh football, which they have won in the last five seasons.
Manchester United vs Astana: probable line-ups:
Manchester United: de Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Young, McTominay, Matic, Pereira, Mata, James, Rashford
Coach: Ole Gunnar Solskjær
Astana: Eric, Rukavina, Postnikov, Murtazayev, Maevskiy, Shomko, Simunovic, Tomasov, Muzhikov, Sigurjonsson, Rotariu.
Coach: Roman Hryhorchuk
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