Marcus Rashford Saves Manchester United in Europa League Semi-Final 1st Leg

Marcus Rashford scored a terrific free-kick in the second half to help Manchester United beat Celta Vigo 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos on Thursday.

Rashford's goal capped a professional performance from United, who were compact, disciplined and quick on the break. The Red Devils will now be strong favourites to reach the final, although they saw the fatigued goalscorer withdrawn late on.

The UEFA Europa League official Twitter account relayed both starting lineups, with centre-back Eric Bailly and midfielder Paul Pogba returning from injury for United:

Daniel Wass missed a great chance for the hosts early on, with the Danish winger inexplicably heading wide from less than six yards. The miss was costly and also a rare moment of threat from the home side.

Celta had come close to puncturing the United defence, but the Spanish outfit soon came to rely on a star turn from goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez.

UEFA.com's Richard Martin noted how often the club stalwart was thwarting United attacks:

One player causing Alvarez and the Celta back line problems was Rashford. The 19-year-old's pace and movement made him a menace between the lines.

United couldn't find the breakthrough, but they were bossing things in midfield. In particular, world-record signing Pogba enjoyed an outstanding half, as numbers from Squawka Football showed:

The second half began with United 'keeper Sergio Romero saving well from Pione Sisto. It was a rare moment of hope for the hosts, though, as the Red Devils soon regained control.

Their breakthrough came when the still-dangerous Rashford was clipped on the edge of the box after collecting a smart reverse pass from Pogba. It was the former who stepped up to whip the ball into the bottom corner for a priceless away goal.

Rashford has been establishing a niche in the final third in this tournament lately, per WhoScored.com:

Speaking of a niche, United have been carving out one of their own from free-kicks in Europe:

Meanwhile, Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News felt the goal was proof of Rashford's maturation as a central striker this season:

Pogba fired over the bar as the match headed into the final five minutes, with United remaining largely untroubled. The hosts struggled to get their key attackers on the ball often enough, with prolific forward Iago Aspas a subdued figure for most of the night.

Ultimately, United probably should have scored a few more but can still feel content with taking an away goal back to Old Trafford for next week's return leg.

Post-Match Reaction

Afterwards, United manager Jose Mourinho provided an update on Rashford's fitness after substituting him for Anthony Martial with 10 minutes to go, per BT Sport (h/t Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News):

"He started the game with a little problem. And obviously with the running and continuity he was feeling and Martial was fresh and he had to give us the last 10 or 15 minutes where we thought we could still score because of plenty of space to play."

David Ramos/Getty Images

Mourinho also lamented his side's inability to pad their lead during a first half United dominated, per the same source: "I'm very pleased with the performance, not so pleased with the result. At half-time, we should already be not three but two and the result is open, and I think we played enough to have the result closed."

Finally, the United boss hinted he may rest players for Sunday's Premier League clash away to Arsenal: "It's not affected, it's what I have to do, so I'm going to do."

Gaining a first-leg lead may have Mourinho thinking even more how winning the Europa League is the best way for United to qualify for next season's Champions League. It's hard to fault the logic given the strength of the competition left in this tournament, one United's expensively assembled and deep squad must surely win from this point.