PITCH IMPERFECT: Mourinho’s United held 1-1 in Rostov-on-Don

United coach Jose Mourinho complained about the quality of the pitch before the game, but his side had the benefit of a strong wind for the first half.

Michael Owen believes Jose Mourinho made the right choice in playing Henrikh Mkhitaryan in Manchester United’s last-16 Europa League tie with FC Rostov. He said he was surprised at the condition of the field, because he thought it that in Rostov’s previous matches, the pitch looked “playable”. Marouane Fellaini’s chest control from Phil Jones’ long pass was typically adept, though the delicacy with which he released Zlatan Ibrahimovic down the left flank was uncharacteristic.

Rostov responded, however, and got their equalizer through Aleksandr Bukharov in the 53rd minute.

Argentina worldwide Esteban Cambiasso’s fine header put Olympiacos ahead at the break, but Cameroon forward Vincent Aboubakar fired Besiktas level early in the second half. Instead, his assist for Mkhitaryan’s vital goal was coolness personified.

“We can not go with Nicky Butt’s team”.

The Armenia worldwide scored Manchester United’s victor in their last Europa League game in a 1-0 win against Saint-Etienne before the midfielder had to come off shortly after his strike in France due to an injury problem. It is better 1-1 that 0-0, obviously.

Rostov manager Ivan Daniliants fired back, saying that Rostov’s field, the Olimp-2 stadium, was not the worst and that players get injured all the time. I’m happy to score and we were happy to lead, but unfortunately we conceded and everything changed with their goal.

“I remember as a kid in Portugal some matches like this, real amateurs with fight, but our players coped with this, they fight for every ball and for a good result and it is a good feeling for me”.

The next leg is on March 17 and at Old Trafford Mourinho will fancy his chances of progressing to the quarters without much fuss, but he has other concerns at the moment.

The home fans tried their utmost to roar their side to a late victory, but a series of set pieces in the closing stages failed to produce a victor for the home side to take to Old Trafford in a week’s time.