UEFA Europa League revived on a challenging pitch at the Olymp-2 Stadium – which was criticised by the United manager Jose Mourinho before the match.
Midfielder Paul Pogba failed to strike from inside the box early on, but United grabbed a crucial away goal through Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s close-range finish following magical work by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swedish striker shot went over the crossbar in the second half, minutes before Rostov forward Aleksandr Bukharov latched on to Timofei Kalachev’s pass for the equalizer.
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Aleksandr Erokhin stabbed a shot wide for the hosts from a promising position and United’s Marouane Fellaini headed straight at the goalkeeper from a corner.
The return leg takes place at Old Trafford next Thursday night
(Kick-off 1:35 am IST, FRIDAY).