Paul Pogba made a sensational return from injury as he fired Manchester United into the Europa League quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory at AC Milan.
The France international scored just three minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute to mark his first appearance since February 6 in style.
It was Pogba’s fifth goal of the season and completely transformed the complexion of the tie as the Red Devils produced a much-improved second-half showing to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
United had started brightly but faded as a cagey first half ended on an even footing. Milan actually had the better openings with Dean Henderson making a fine stop to keep out a well-struck drive from Alexis Saelemaekers.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer responded by bringing on Pogba for a first outing since picking up a thigh problem six weeks ago, and it paid dividends as the visitors took control.
Milan turned to former United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to try and rescue the tie, but the substitute saw a header brilliantly kept out by Henderson.
United will now await Friday’s last eight draw before turning their focus to FA Cup duty and the sixth-round clash at Leicester City on Sunday.
