Marcus Rashford’s stunning free-kick 23 minutes from time put Manchester United on the brink of reaching the Europa League final with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Celta Vigo on Thursday.
Celta goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez kept the Spaniards in the tie before halftime with a string of saves to deny Rashford, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jese Lingard.
However, he was wrong-footed by Rashford’s free-kick as United took a giant step towards reaching the final in Stockholm on May 24.
The two sides meet again at Old Trafford for the second leg on May 11.
Rashford’s 11th goal of the season was just reward for United’s superiority as they close in on not just the prestige of winning the Europa League for the first time, but also the prize of guaranteed Champions League football next season it would bring.
