The final whistle sounds.

17.04.202027.05.2017

“Football 24” announces the Europa League group stage match, in which Manchester United and Zorya Lugansk will meet for the first time in their history.

Manchester United - "Zarya"

Chief referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)

TV broadcast on the "Football 2" channel, online text broadcast on the "Football 24" website

The long-awaited moment has arrived! Zarya Lugansk will enter the Old Trafford field with a confident UPL gait, which a couple of years ago could only do this in a computer simulator. And now this is a reality, and the Luhansk residents fully deserve to join the company of Jose and his guys.

In the interval between the matches with Fenerbahce and Manchester United, Zorya played 2 important matches in the championship - with Dynamo and Vorskla, where two victories were achieved. “Zarya” quickly moved on from the insults and undeservedly, and victories over direct competitors in the UPL allowed them to believe in themselves again. This form of “Zarya” is the merit of the team’s head coach, who nurtures in the players confidence in their abilities in matches with any opponent. Therefore, Lugansk residents came to Manchester not for a city tour, but with clear goals regarding the result.

Evgeniy Opanasenko, immersed in literature, during a flight to Manchester (Photo: FC Zarya).

The Zarya flew to the places of Sir Alex Ferguson's glory on a modest 48-seat charter, which was forced to refuel in Poland along the way. Yuri Vernidub took with him, so to speak, the fighting strength of the team. There was a risk that Opanasenko would miss the game, who after last game championship, but he managed to recover. It would probably be a shame to miss such a match due to injury. In general, Zorya is ready to take the field and prove that they are not afraid of names and authorities, as they did in the match with Dynamo and Fenerbahce.

As for the famous opponent of the Luhansk team, Manchester United lost their first round match in the Europa League group. Feyenoord played competently with the Manchester giants and. Immediately after this, the “devils” had to survive in the championship (1:3). Only in the next two matches did they manage to briefly escape from under pressure and win two victories (in the Cup over Northampton Town and in).

By all indications, the Europa League is not a priority tournament for Manchester United and Jose Mourinho is not going to direct all his efforts here. He will most likely dilute the main squad with players close to the core, and give the leaders a rest. However, Henrikh Mkhitaryan (injury) and Luke Shaw (cold) will definitely not play against Zorya. There is a question about Ibrahimovic’s participation, because first there was information that, and later Mourinho himself said that. Was Jose cunning or was he right? We’ll find out today.

It's no secret that Manchester United is the undisputed favorite of the confrontation. The match will take place according to the hosts' scenario, but for Zorya there are still counterattacks and mistakes from the opponent, which the Luhansk team willingly takes advantage of in the Ukrainian Championship. Therefore, as the classic said, “there are chances even when there are none.”

Words

Jose Mourinho, head coach Manchester United:

We need to win against Zorya, because otherwise we will have to take maximum points in the next 4 games. This won't be easy. In order not to complicate our task to such an extent, I repeat - it is very important to win. I watched the matches of Zorya against Fenerbahce and Dynamo. I chose these matches because they were important for Zarya and our opponent played them very well.

Yuri Vernidub, head coach of "Zarya":

Honestly, it's scary to go onto the Old Trafford pitch. Why lie? We understand: Manchester United is a world-class brand. There is definitely anxiety. Although we, coaches, try to instill confidence in the guys. In sports, everything is possible. We believe that first of all we must play with dignity. I talked to the guys: could we have imagined this two or three years ago? The main thing now is to go out onto the field, not invent anything and show everything we can

Approximate compositions

Manchester United: De Gea - Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Blind - Herrera, Pogba - Lingard, Mata, Rashford - Ibrahimovic.

"Zarya": Shevchenko - Kamenyuka, Sivakov, Forster, Sobol - Gordienko, Grechishkin - Karavaev, Lyubenovich, Petryak - Kulach.

Mikhailo Tatarevsky Thursday, 29 June 2016, 23:58

On September 29, in the second round of the group stage of the Europa League, Zorya Lugansk played away against the English Manchester United. In a confrontation with one of best clubs Yuri Vernidub's team at the legendary Old Trafford stadium adequately passed the test of strength, but could not resist Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored winning goal in the 69th minute.

"Apostrophe" conducted an online broadcast of the match.

Manchester United - Zorya 1:0

Goal: Ibrahimovic, 69

Manchester United: Romero - Fosu-Mensah (Martial 74), Smalling, Bailly, Rojo - Fellaini, Pogba - Lingard (Rooney 67), Mata (Young 74), Rashford - Ibrahimovic.

"Zarya": Shevchenko - Kamenyuka, Sivakov, Forster, Sobol - Grechishkin, Tchaikovsky (Gordienko, 80) - Karavaev, Lyubenovich (Lipartiya, 76), Petryak - Kulach (Paulinho, 60).

Warnings: Bailly - Kamenyuk.

Final match statistics: Shots on goal: Manchester United - 13 (2 on target) - Zarya - 7 (2); corner - 9 - 4; ball possession: 67% - 33%.

The final whistle sounds

90+3 “Zarya” took a free kick from the right flank, but didn’t finish it off

90+2 Pogba shot from long range - past the goal - the game didn’t go well for himself today dear football player peace

90 The referee compensated 3 minutes

89 Kamenyuka receives a yellow card

89 After Ibrahimovic's free-kick, Shevchenko caught the ball

89 Manchester United earned the right to a dangerous free kick - 25 meters to the goal

88 Karavaev made a header after a cross from Paulinho - Romero easily took the ball into his hands

87 Kamenyuk intercepted the ball perfectly, then rushed along the right flank and crossed into the penalty area - Paulinho did not reach the ball

85 After a corner, Fellaini took a dangerous volley - slightly over the crossbar

84 Ibrahimovic earns a corner for Manchester United

83 Petryak burst into the penalty area from the left, but failed to pass to the center

82 Grechishkin makes a gross mistake in a simple situation in the center of the field and sends the ball over the sideline - Vernidub is simply furious

80 After Ibrahimovic’s cross pass, the ball was almost intercepted by Petryak - Bailly saved Manchester United from major troubles

80 Gordienko takes the field instead of Tchaikovsky

79 Lipratia shot the free kick high above the goal

78 Lipartia earned a dangerous free kick 24 meters from the goal

75 Lipartia plays instead of Lyubenovich for Zarya

73 Young plays instead of Mata, and Fosu-Mensah gives way to Martial

After a cross from the right, Rooney tried to shoot, his shot failed, but the ball bounced to Ibrahimovic, who, in a fight with Kamenyuka, headed it into the goal

69 Manchester United opens the scoring

67 Rooney comes on instead of Lingard

66 Excellent spin of the ball into the far corner by Paulinho after a free kick - Romero transferred the ball to the corner

66 Zarya earned a free kick on the right flank

65 Tchaikovsky gave an inaccurate pass to Petryak’s flank - the Lugansk resident addressed the ball too strongly to his partner

64 Bailly is booked for a straight kick against Paulinho

63 Another sharp pass went into the Luhansk penalty area, this time Rojo got ahead of Shevchenko

62 Pogba played an excellent through ball to Rashford, but Sobol at the last moment snatched the ball from his opponent and did not allow him to go one on one

61 After another cross from the right flank, the Zarya goalkeeper takes the ball into his hands.

60 Rashford crosses from the right, Sobol knocks the ball into touch

59 At Zarya, Paulinho comes onto the field instead of Kulach

56 Kulach thwarted a promising counterattack with an inaccurate pass to the left

55 Lingard crossed dangerously from the right, Shevchenko took the ball into his hands

54 Manchester United took the corner, Forster won the challenge

53 Fellaini shot from the penalty area - the Belgian's shot was blocked by Sobol

52 Petryak was eager to launch a counterattack on the left flank, Fellaini caught him in the center of the field - Zorya will take a free kick

Meanwhile, Rooney ran to the sideline to warm up - the legendary Englishman still made it into the lineup today, despite back problems

50 “Zorya” carried out another dangerous counterattack - Karavaev crossed from the right into the penalty area, but Lyubenovich was unable to close the cross

48 Zarya launched a 4v3 counterattack, but Sobol ran into an offside position

46 The second half has begun!

First half statistics:

Shots on goal: Manchester United - 8 (0 on target) - Zarya - 2 (0); corner: 7 - 2; ball possession: 71% - 29%.

The first half is over

45 Kamenyuka and Lyubenovich played a wall on the right flank and lost the ball behind the goal line under pressure from Smalling

43 Pogba on the right flank fouled in an attack against Petryak - the guests have a minute to catch their breath

43 Manchester United's quick attack ended with a shot from Rashford - the ball hit one of the Lugansk players and went for a corner

42 Fellaini made a dangerous header after a corner and bounced off the turf - the ball went just centimeters from the post - Zarya are lucky again

41 Lingard shot from a killer position, but Forster rushed under the shot

40 “Zarya” could have organized an attack on the right flank, but Karavaev lost the ball in a simple situation - there was a lot of bark in the actions of the Lugansk team

39 Pogba crossed dangerously from the right after the loss of Sobol, the ball after Mata’s header went over the goal

38 Kulach unsuccessfully passed the ball on the left flank to Petryak - in a simple situation, Zarya loses the ball

37 Zorya played the ball after a corner, but Lyubenovic lost the ball

36 Petryak earned a corner

35 Manchester United's protracted attack ended with the loss of Pogba and Fellaini's foul against Kulach

32 Pogba passed the ball to Ibrahimovic into the penalty area, but the Swede lost the fight for the ball to Sivakov

32 Ibrahimovic hit the wall with a free kick

31 Ibrahimovic earned a free kick 30 meters from the goal, Tchaikovsky violated the rules

30 Sobol joined the attack and made a dash on the left flank, but the ball did not reach him

29 After a high pass, Mata to Pogba, Shevchenko takes the ball into his hands

27 Grechishkin shot hard from the free kick, the home team cleared the ball - an unsuccessful decision by the Zarya players

26 Bailly played illegally on the left flank against Ljubenovic

25 Kamenyuka tried to sneak towards the goal on the right flank, but lost the ball in the fight with the defenders

23 Lingard received the ball for a move in the penalty area, but was unable to handle it and missed

21 Ibrahimovic hit Petryak’s legs from behind in midfield

20 After a corner, Rashford hit the crossbar from outside the penalty area. Lucky "Zarya"!

19 Ibrahimovic shot dangerously from outside the penalty area - the ball ricocheted off a Zorya player and went for a corner

18 Fosu-Mensah dangerously cut the ball into the penalty area on the mat, but the players of the Ukrainian club managed to beat the Spaniard

17 After a corner kick, Sivakov unsuccessfully launched a candle over his own penalty area, but the Lugansk team eventually managed to fight back

16 Manchester United counterattacked, also earning a corner

16 After a corner, Fellaini won the fight

15 "Zarya" carried out a counterattack, at the end of which Kulach on the left flank earned a corner

13 Karavaev shot dangerously from the right flank, but Kulach lost the aerial battle to Smalling. "Zarya" answers dangerously

11 Tchaikovsky ended up on the lawn after a game collision - the referee did not record a violation on the part of Ibrahimovic

10 Mata crossed from the left flank, Zarya defenders knocked the ball out of the penalty area

9 Sivakov, in a fight with Ibrahimovic on the left flank, knocked the ball into touch

9 After a corner, Fellaini headed wide

9 Manchester United takes the corner

8 Rashford’s pass on the left flank was interrupted by the visitors knocking the ball into touch

7 Luhansk team diverts the threat from their goal after a corner

6 Manchester United earned a corner

5 Dangerous at the Manchester United gate! Petryak crossed from the left flank, Lyubenovic shot, but the ball went much higher than the goal

5 Lyubenovic shot at goal, but the defender took the blow

3 Pogba launches a diagonal to the right flank, but the pass turns out strong and the ball goes beyond the goal line

While Manchester United cannot find a way to the Zarya goal

1 Manchester United take control of the ball immediately

1 The match has begun!

The Europa League anthem plays

Teams take to the field

Starting lineups:

"Manchester United": Romero - Fosu-Mensah, Smalling, Bailly, Rojo - Pogba, Fellaini - Lingard, Mata, Rashford - Ibrahimovic.

"Zarya": Shevchenko - Kamenyuka, Sivakov, Forster, Sobol - Karavaev, Grechishkin, Tchaikovsky, Petryak - Lyubenovich - Kulach.

For Zarya, their performance in the current Europa League will be remembered for a long time. And it’s not just that the Lugansk team made their debut in the group round of the tournament. The opponents of Yuri Vernidub's team included eminent players who in other seasons had a chance to meet only in the Champions League - the Turkish Fenerbahce, the Dutch Feyenoord and the English Manchester United.

It is possible that the match at Old Trafford against Manchester United will become one of the most memorable moments in their careers for many Zorya players, so the Lugansk team will be extremely motivated today. The home team, on the contrary, have a cool attitude towards the Europa League, as Manchester head coach Jose Mourinho openly admitted after losing the match against Feyenoord in the first round in Rotterdam (0:1).

Despite the statements of the Portuguese, we can safely say that their fans will not forgive the Manchester United players for their misfire in the home match against Zorya, an unknown team in England. Mourinho also understands this, who changed his rhetoric and at the pre-match press conference already said that it was very important for his team to beat the Lugansk team.

"We have to win. If we don't win, we'll have to win the four remaining games, and that's difficult. So it's very important to win tomorrow," Mourinho said.

The Portuguese also said that in starting lineup Manchester United will take to the field today Zlatan Ibrahimovic, denying claims that the Swedish striker will miss the Europa League game.

Zorya head coach Yuri Vernidub also expressed hope that Manchester United will field the strongest squad. “Personally, I would like Manchester United to play us with the strongest squad. It would be much more interesting for us,” Vernidub said at the pre-match press conference.

However, it is already known that the English club will not have an optimal combination due to injuries to Wayne Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as well as Luke Shaw’s illness. Zarya question the participation of defender Evgeniy Opanasenko in the match, who has problems with his ankle.

In the first game of the group round of the Europa League against Fenerbahce, Opanasenko appeared on the field only in the 83rd minute, so his possible absence should not be a problem. On September 15 in Odessa, Zarya was close to victory after a goal in the 52nd minute by Dmitry Grechishkin. However, the Luhansk team could not maintain their advantage, conceding from Simon Kjaer in the 5th stoppage minute of the match and ending the game in a 1:1 draw.

Just like in the match against Turkish club, “Zarya” will be an outsider today, according to bookmakers. They offer odds of 1.15 for a Manchester United win, 7.50 for a draw, and 21.00 for a win by the Ukrainian club.

The match between Manchester United and Zorya will be refereed by Israeli Orel Grinfeld.

Mikhailo Tatarevsky

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Mikhail Tatarevsky Thursday, September 29, 2016, 11:58 pm

On September 29, in the second round of the group stage of the Europa League, Zorya Lugansk played away against the English Manchester United. In a confrontation with one of the best clubs in the world, Yuri Vernidub's team at the legendary Old Trafford stadium passed the test of strength, but could not resist Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored the winning goal in the 69th minute.