Manchester United cruised into the last 16 of the Europa League as a 1-0 victory at Saint-Etienne crowned a dominant 4-0 aggregate triumph, but match-winner Henrikh Mkhitaryan left boss Jose Mourinho with an injury worry.
The sight of the Armenia captain – who continued his recent fine form with a smartly taken goal from Juan Mata’s cross – departing before the half hour with an apparent hamstring problem was far from welcome with Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Southampton on the horizon.
Mourinho’s scope for tactical substitutions with an eye on that Wembley date was further limited when centre-back Eric Bailly was booked for two fouls on Romain Hamouma in the space of three needlessly rash minutes in the second-half.
It means the Ivory Coast international will be suspended when United begin their last-16 tie and his manager will have been pleased to see the remaining action at a buoyant Stade Geoffroy-Guichard pass without incident.
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