Manchester United booked their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League courtesy of a 2-1 win over CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford.
United entered the match knowing that a draw would be enough to guarantee their spot in the next round of the competition as Group A winners, but they could also afford to lose by six goals and still advance to the last-16.
CSKA controversially took the lead late in the first period when Vitinho’s effort was diverted in by Alan Dzagoev. United wanted offside, but Daley Blind, who was off the pitch, was adjudged to still be involved in the match.
UEFA bizarrely awarded the goal to Vitinho, and it is still unclear whether it should have been disallowed due to the confusion surrounding the rule.
United were level in the 64th minute through Romelu Lukaku, however, before Marcus Rashford netted less than two minutes later to turn the match around.
Below are four talking points from the European fixture at Old Trafford.
Luke Shaw impresses in first start of the season
On Monday, United boss Jose Mourinho confirmed that Shaw would be involved in the matchday squad, and the 22-year-old made his first start in over seven months. His two previous appearances this season came off the bench in the EFL Cup, but he was back in the XI for the clash at Old Trafford.
Shaw has been with United since 2014, but incredibly the clash with CSKA was just his 50th appearance for the Red Devils. The left-back is still battling to overcome the horrific double leg fracture he suffered in September 2015, and he has been strongly linked with a move away from Old Trafford.
Indeed, Tottenham Hotspur’s Danny Rose is said to be leading transfer target for Mourinho, while Ashley Young has been exceptional in the left-back spot for United this season. Shaw still has time on his side, however, and there is still a serious player in there.
The Englishman was excellent in the first 25 minutes as he made a series of brilliant runs forward, and also tested CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev with a super volley in the 22nd minute. Shaw would have been disappointed with his part in the away side’s goal, but he again impressed in the second half as United came from behind to win.
Mkhitaryan left out in the cold once again
Henrikh Mkhitaryan started the season like a house on fire. The Armenian showed glimpses of his brilliant talent in the opening weeks of the 2017-18 campaign, and he was starting to look like the player that lit up the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.
The 28-year-old was poor in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea last month, however, and has not even been in the squad for four of United’s last five matches. Even in what was effectively a dead rubber against CSKA, the attacker could not get a look-in ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend.
As it stands, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are both ahead of him in the number 10 position, and the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic has pushed the attacker further down the pecking order. He has been strongly linked with a return to Dortmund in recent days, and it seems likely a deal could occur.
There is no doubting Mkhitaryan’s talent. He is arguably one of the most technically gifted footballers in the Premier League, but he just has not shown it on a consistent basis. United carry him when the team is not playing well, and his lack of defensive awareness seems to have aggravated Mourinho.
Not many teams will fancy facing United
According to the bookmakers, Paris Saint-Germain are the favourites to win the Champions League this season, with Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich making up the top five. In fact, the odds suggest that Tottenham Hotspur are just as likely to win the Champions League as United.
Not many teams will fancy drawing United in the first knockout round, however, and the Red Devils could well go under the radar to seriously challenge for the crown this season. In Mourinho, the 20-time English champions have a manager who knows what it takes to be successful in this competition.
United’s counter-attacking tactics worked perfectly away to Arsenal in the Premier League at the weekend, and they certainly have the credentials to beat any side over two legs. This Mourinho team is still a work in progress, but they will be a very difficult draw for any of the so-called favourites for the crown.
CSKA could be a threat in the Europa League
CSKA reached the Champions League round of 16 during the 2011-12 season, but have struggled in recent years, and actually finished bottom of their qualification group in each of their previous four European campaigns.
They have once again failed to reach the knockout round of Europe’s elite competition, but nine points from six matches is a decent return. Indeed, it was more than enough to secure third spot in Group A, meaning that they will be present in the last-32 stage of the Europa League.
The Russian giants won away at Basel and Benfica during the group phase, but home defeats to United and Basel left them with too much to do on matchday six. They were without the suspended Pontus Wernbloom, who has scored five goals in his last six matches, at Old Trafford, but showed plenty of promise.
Fedor Chalov played through the middle for CSKA, and the 19-year-old was a threat alongside Dzagoev and Vitinho in the final third of the field. The visitors led 1-0 at the interval, but left too many gaps in the second as United turned the match on its head.
Dzagoev should have actually made it 2-2 late on, but the attacker was denied by a super save from United goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
