Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first hat-trick for Manchester United to give them a comfortable 3-0 first-leg lead against Saint-Etienne in the last 32 of the Europa League.
The Red Devils edged a tight first half thanks to their star striker's opening goal from a free kick 15 minutes in, which came via a deflection to help it on its way through.
Ibrahimovic scored two more goals in the final quarter of the match to essentially end the tie at the midway stage; the first a close-range finish and the second a penalty after being brought down in the box.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded at Old Trafford with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the first-leg meeting between Manchester United and Saint-Etienne in the Europa League. This is the first of four games in the space of 10 days for the Red Devils, who are still battling for success on four fronts; including on the continental stage where France's most-successful side - statistically speaking, at least - stand in their way of a place in the last 16.
TEAM NEWS!
MANCHESTER UNITED XI: Romero; Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Blind; Fellaini, Herrera, Mata, Pogba, Martial; Ibrahimovic
SAINT-ETIENNE XI: Ruffier; Malcuit, Theophile-Catherine, Perrin, Pogba; Jorginho, Veretout, Pajot, Saivet; Hamouma, Monnet-Paquet
Starting with a look at the home team, manager Jose Mourinho has made just the two alterations from last weekend's comfortable 2-0 win over Watford here. David de Gea and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are both afforded a rest, with the latter missing out on the squad entirely. That means a seventh appearance of the campaign for Sergio Romero - four of them coming in this competition - while Marouane Fellaini is also given a chance to prove himself once again.
Mourinho revealed on the eve of the match that Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick would be absent tonight with "little muscular problems - he deliberately steered clear of calling them injuries - but this is a very strong 18-man side named by the Portuguese. So strong, in fact, that Luke Shaw even misses out on a place on the bench for the fourth match in a row, despite putting his injury issues behind him in recent weeks.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic simply does not like being left out of the side, no matter what the game or competition, so it comes as little surprise to see him named up top this evening. The ex-Sweden international has actually scored more goals against Saint-Etienne than any other opponent he has faced during a stellar career, finding the net 14 times in all. Other than the omission of Mkhitaryan and De Gea, it is as you were from last time out, meaning no place for the still-injured Phil Jones.
In terms of the visitors, they remain unchanged from the 4-0 win over Lorient last weekend. The big news as far as Les Verts are concerned is the return to fitness of Robert Beric, who takes a spot on the bench for the first time in two months after damaging his knee. The standout name in the side, more to do with his footballing links than any world-class ability, is Florentin Pogba - brother of Man United's world-record signing Paul.
Florentin has featured nine times in all competitions so far this season, including five times during the group phase of the Europa League. Much of the talk pre-match has centered around the 'rivalry' with his brother, with his mother even claiming that she wants both matches to finish all square! Should that be the case, extra time and penalties could be required if away goals do not separate the sides. Les Verts have three Premier League-experienced players in their ranks, meanwhile, including former Cardiff City full-back Kevin Theophile-Catherine.
BENCH WATCH!
MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS: De Gea, Darmian, Rojo, Schweinsteiger, Lingard, Young, Rashford
SAINT-ETIENNE SUBS: Moulin, Selnaes, Lacroix, Roux, Lemoine, Pierre-Gabriel, Beric
Mourinho has just confirmed that Mkhitaryan misses out tonight due to illness, rather than simply being rested for fitness reasons. With the Armenia international dropping out, Marcus Rashford will no doubt feel a little aggrieved to have been overlooked for the second match running, but United instead turn to the more powerful Fellaini in central midfield. That will presumably mean a more attacking role for Pogba, who will start in the no.10 position just off Ibrahimovic.
Sergio Romero is handed just a seventh appearance of the campaign for Manchester United this evening, coming into the side in place of regular stopper David de Gea. The only other change from the 2-0 win over Watford is the inclusion of Marouane Fellaini, who takes the place of illness victim Henrikh Mkhitaryan in a deep midfield position, presumably leading to a more attacking role for Paul Pogba. Saint-Etienne, with Florentin Pogba in their ranks, remain unchanged from the 4-0 weekend win over Lorient.
Man United are still battling on four fronts as we approach the final few months of the season, then, which - as Mourinho has gone to great pains to point out in recent days - has left the Red Devils with an almighty fixture backlog. It is fair to say that United's form has become more consistent since they last competed in the Europa League, having won just eight of 19 games heading into their encounter with Zorya Luhansk a little over two months ago.
Since picking up victory in that potential banana skin fixture, United went on to win nine-successive matches in all competitions and have only lost one of their last 22 overall. Six of those wins came in the Premier League, helping to get them right back on track in the race for the top four after a stuttered start to life under new boss Mourinho. The Portuguese has made no secret that this competition is not the one he wants to be competing in, but a strong XI tonight suggests that he is certainly taking it seriously.
That solitary defeat in the past few months came at the hands of Hull City in the EFL Cup - a result that Mourinho was quick to discredit because his side had already done enough in the first leg of the semi-final to progress through. It is fair to say that United's players are now more accustomed to their manager's methods, as well as the altered system that has managed to get more out of Pogba in a defensive two alongside either Michael Carrick or, more recently, Ander Herrera.
As well as competing for success in the Europa League, the Red Devils are also in the running for the FA Cup and EFL Cup, and they are just two points adrift of a place in the top four - their minimum target for this term. Silverware and a trophy will be ideal for Mourinho in his maiden campaign at Old Trafford, and he could take a giant step towards achieving that in a little over a week's time when his side take on Southampton in the EFL Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
Mourinho is certainly cautious of this gruelling run of games, saying in the build-up to this match that United "will be in trouble" if they overcome Saint-Etienne and Blackburn Rovers in the Europa League and FA Cup respectively over the next six days. That is immediately followed up by the cup clash with Southampton, before attention can finally turn back to the Premier League in early March. All systems go for the Red Devils, then, but fans certainly would not want it any other way if that leads to success.
Should United continue to progress through the domestic and European cups, they face playing a total of 66 games between now and the end of May - or potentially more if replays are required in the FA Cup. It is fair to say that the EFL Cup will likely be Mourinho's top focus right now, with just one more hurdle to overcome, while the two-point deficit on the top four also needs to be made up. Too many draws here across the season is to blame for a title challenge never truly coming to fruition, with Hull the latest to leave here with a share of the points a fortnight ago.
Since that stalemate with Hull, United have comfortably seen off Leicester away and Watford at home; the latter arguably seeing the Red Devils put together their best attacking opening-45 minutes display of the season to date. In terms of their Europa League aspirations, the Red Devils have won four of their six games in this year's competition thus far to progress through Group A along with Fenerbahce, with three of those victories coming on home soil.
Three wins at Old Trafford in the group phase takes United's overall home tally in European competition to 14 games without defeat, stretching back to March 2013 when Real Madrid picked up victory here in the Champions League. Mourinho has also won eight of his 10 games as manager in Europe's secondary competition, going all the way the last time he competed in it with Porto 14 years ago.
DID YOU KNOW? Manchester United have never lost at home to French opposition in European competition, winning nine and drawing four of their previous 14 encounters, while conceding just six times in those matches. Saint-Etienne last faced an English side in the 1981 UEFA Cup quarter-finals when losing to Ipswich Town. Les Verts have not had too much luck on British shores, in fact, as they also lost on their only other previous visits here against Liverpool and Man United.
Jose Mourinho was going through a difficult spell of form during the early stages of Manchester United's European campaign, winning just eight of 19 games leading into the group-stage encounter with Zorya Luhansk. The Red Devils have since put together a run of nine-successive wins and lost just one of 22 overall, however, leaving them on course for success in four different competitions.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! These two sides have met on just two previous occasions, with Manchester United beating Saint-Etienne 2-0 in the home leg of their Cup Winners' Cup first-round tie after a 1-1 draw in France. They never faced off at Old Trafford in that 1977-78 double-header, though, as crowd trouble in the first leg saw the match moved to Plymouth.
The visitors are statistically the most-successful club in French football, but their best run on the continent saw them finish as runners-up in the 1975-76 European Cup. Les Verts topped Group C ahead of Anderlecht, Mainz 05 and Qabala to make it to this first knockout-stage hurdle, going unbeaten by winning three and drawing three. ASSE, as they are also known, have now gone unbeaten in their last 10 outings in the Europa League.
Going further back, it is just two defeats in 20 European outings for Saint-Etienne over the past few seasons - their best such run of form since going 12 unbeaten between 2005-09. This is unquestionably their most difficult assignment yet, however, as they aim to overcome the three-time European champions across two legs. Les Verts head into the match sitting fifth in the Ligue 1 table, which is one spot higher than their finish of last season when qualifying for this competition.
Lyon, who occupy fourth place in the French top flight, sit just one point better off - albeit with a game in hand - so there is still plenty for Christophe Galtier's men to compete for domestically. Saint-Etienne, who were recently knocked out of the Coupe de France by Auxerre after extra time, are third in the Ligue 1 form league behind pacesetters Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain - not bad going at all!
With kickoff at the Theatre of Dreams now around seven minutes or so away, let us turn attention to some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Jose Mourinho: "We cannot chose competitions at Manchester United, we know our situation is really complicated. We know that the Europa League is also a competition where we play on Thursday and then makes it even more difficult with the accumulation of FA Cup and League Cup games and the match postponement. If we progress we will be in trouble come May. But we cannot choose and we play competition to win. It's also a good way to give the team experience and international experience is always a plus.
Christophe Galtier: "For me, Manchester United is the biggest club in the world. It's like a mountain. Mont Blanc. Himalayas. Big, big gap between Manchester and us. But I have my plan. Our objective is to still have hope for the game here [the second leg]. They will want to make the difference in the first game. They will want to finish it. I watch many games. It was difficult for them at the beginning of the season but now they are a strong team, a strong team physically as well, big, with a big organisation."
Galtier describes Man United as the "biggest club in the world", admitting that there is a major gulf between them and his side. The plan, as Les Verts' boss puts it, is to keep things tight heading into the second leg, which will take place in France in less than a week's time. Mourinho, on the other hand, is concerned by the amount of games the Red Devils have in front of them but will not complain as it means that success is on the horizon.
Both sets of players are now out on the field of play, with kickoff at Old Trafford just moments away. A quick reminder of the team news for you: Manchester United make two alterations to their starting lineup, bringing in Sergio Romero and Marouane Fellaini for David de Gea and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while Saint-Etienne - who have three players with Premier League experience in their ranks - remain unchanged from last time out.
KICKOFF! Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has scored 14 goals in games with Saint-Etienne in the past - more than against any other opponent faced - gets proceedings up and running for Manchester United on home soil.
Bright start for the visitors, as Monnet-Paquet pounces on a mistake and charges down the left flank. A decent delivery is sent in, too, which Smalling manages to get to first to send behind for a corner. United yet to really settle in the match.
CHANCE! Bailly has had a shocker in these opening five minutes or so. The centre-back was at fault for that brief opening for the visitors a few moments ago, which Smalling cut out, and soon after his weak backpass under little pressure was pounced on by Hamouma. The angle was against him, though, with no shot on target following.
Pogba aims for Fellaini with a cross into the box, which has a little too much on it. A different type of target for the Red Devils this evening, of course, with the Belgian's height adding to the talents of Ibrahimovic in the air.
United have settled into the game following a shaky opening few minutes, which saw them come close to falling behind through a Bailly error. Saint-Etienne probably weren't expecting to see quite so much of the ball early on as they did.
SAVE! Martial with a decent attempt from range for Stephane Ruffier to push to safety. United now the side very much on top following that first on-target effort of the evening so far, coming via their Man of the Match from the win over Watford.
The visiting army of fans making all the noise inside Old Trafford so far, attempting to urge on their players in this first leg. It has been a decent start from Galtier's charges, although they failed to make the most of their only chance so far.
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 SAINT-ETIENNE (ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC)
Goal number 15 for Ibrahimovic in games against Saint-Etienne, but this is surely the strangest of the lot. Veretout sends the striker crashing to the ground 20 yards from goal, meaning a free kick in a promising position for the hosts. Ibra took it on, with the ball ricocheting off Vincent Pajot in the wall and creeping over the line at a snail's pace.
Debate over whether a free kick should have been awarded following that Veretout challenge on Ibrahimovic. No denying that the Swede was looking for it, getting his leg to the ball first ahead of his opponent, and there was an inevitability about it finding the net due to its contentious nature.
PENALTY APPEAL! A big appeal for a Saint-Etienne penalty, as Jorge Intima is caught by the trailing leg of Blind. The question is whether the visiting player kicked his opponent, or if he was indeed caught. After seeing a replay I have to say the decision to wave play on seems harsh.
United win a corner which Mata swings towards the front post. Easily dealt with in the end and the home side fail to do much with the second delivery. Just seen that penalty shout for a third time - Les Verts incredibly unlucky not to have a spot-kick.
SAVE! Great play from United to create their best clear-cut chance of the match so far. Pogba plays a perfectly-weighted pass over the top for Mata, whose volley was heading home if not for a decent stop from Ruffier.
The Red Devils completely dominating things in terms of possession, seeing close to three-quarters of the ball in the opening 26 minutes of this first leg. Ibrahimovic's goal is the difference so far; a fortunate flick taking his free kick past Ruffier.
An impressive enough showing from the hosts so far, but their backline are not quite at the right level just yet. Bailly made two errors early on, remember, and Smalling almost passed the ball straight to a player in green.
SAVE! Chances at both end of the field at Old Trafford. Henri Saivet looked to pick out the bottom corner, only to miss the target by inches, allowing United to get the ball forward quickly through Martial. The Frenchman was denied by the legs of Ruffier and Ibrahimovic could not react to the rebound from three yards out.
SHOT! Classic route on from ASSE, as Romain Hamouma heads the ball down into the path of Saviet to drag a shot wide of the target. A real lively opening third to the match, with both teams creating openings.
Les Verts certainly look as though they have a goal in them this evening. The plan from Galtier was to ensure that his side remain in the match heading into the second leg, and an away goal would be a huge boost to their hopes.
The visitors barely had a touch of the ball over the past couple of minutes, with United knocking it around in midfield and defence. A quieter spell in the game following a lively opening half-hour or so at the Theatre of Dreams.
Pajot with plenty of room to shoot 25 yards from goal, which he sends well wide of Romero's goal in the end. United having to do a bit of defending now, rather than looking to build on their slender first-leg advantage.
CHANCE! Bailly, shaky in the opening five minutes, has produced a superb block to keep his side in the lead. Hamouma's shot looked to have the beating of Romero, but the Ivory Coast international got his body in the way.
SAVE! United's backline certainly being made to earn their money now, as Monnet-Paquet gets to a cutback first but sees the ball deflect into the hands of Romero. The ball could have gone anywhere - thankfully for United it was straight at their keeper.
Hamouma gets the better of Bailly and charges in behind. The angle is well and truly against the forward - the French side's top scorer - but he does not let that stop him belting the ball over from around 10 yards out.
Veretout the latest visiting player to have a pop, sending a shot across Romero's goal and out of play. Mourinho has seen enough and makes his way for the tunnel, with his side second best over the past 10 minutes or so.
HALF TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 SAINT-ETIENNE
Manchester United lead Saint-Etienne by a goal to nil at the break, but it has been a well balanced match on the whole. Zlatan Ibrahimovic's free kick, via a fortunate deflection off the wall, has proved to be the difference between the teams in the first leg of this round-of-32 tie.
United's unchanged backline failed to settle in the opening stages, with Eric Bailly twice at fault for letting the visitors in behind. Kevin Monnet-Paquet was the first to pounce, only for his cross to be cleared away at the front post, before an even worse error gave Romain Hamouma a clean shot on goal which he failed to take. It did not take too long for momentum to swing in the Red Devils' favour, however, as Anthony Martial - earning a second-successive start - fired in a shot for Stephane Ruffier to push aside.
The fortunate breakthrough goal arrived 15 minutes in after Zlatan Ibrahimovic got to the ball ahead of Jordan Veretout to win his side a free kick 20 yards from goal, which he sent past Ruffier at a snail's pace via a deflection off the wall. Saint-Etienne edged the remainder of the first half, seeing a penalty shout turned down when Daley Blind caught Jorge Intima with a trailing leg, while Henri Saivet sent two attempts narrowly wide of the target.
Hamouma saw his goal-bound shot blocked aside by Bailly as the opening 45 minutes transpired, moments before Monnet-Paquet's shot deflected off Chris Smalling and ended in the welcoming hands of stand-in keeper Sergio Romero - one of two changes from last time out, along with the addition of Marouane Fellaini. United themselves had a couple of decent openings to extend their advantage, though, as Juan Mata and Martial both forced saves out of Ruffier in a lively encounter.
Plenty of action in the opening 45 minutes, then, in what has been a fairly balanced game of football on the whole. Unlikely to see any forced changes at the break, though Daley Blind did look to pick up a knock towards the end of the opening 45 minutes.
MANCHESTER UNITED SUBS: De Gea, Darmian, Rojo, Schweinsteiger, Lingard, Young, Rashford
SAINT-ETIENNE SUBS: Moulin, Selnaes, Lacroix, Roux, Lemoine, Pierre-Gabriel, Beric
RESTART! We are back under way at Old Trafford, where there is news of a Manchester United change. Jesse Lingard is on in place of Marouane Fellaini, while Saint-Etienne remain unchanged from the opening 45 minutes.
YELLOW CARD! A rare sight of goal for Ibrahimovic early in this second half. The Swede instead opted to slide it through for Martial, who caught his opponent with an elbow before he could get the ball in the box. Rightly cautioned.
DISALLOWED GOAL! A trademark Ibrahimovic header is sent past Ruffier, but the offside flag was correctly raised on the far side. No sign of Malcuit returning any time soon following that Martial elbow - blood pouring from his mouth.
Another collision to break up play, this time with Smalling and Perrin clashing heads when going for the corner. A case of the medical team ensuring that the visiting player is OK to continue, because he definitely came off second best.
Malcuit, sporting a shiner after being caught by Martial, is back on the field. Pogba sends a shot over the bar from long range to hopefully kickstart what has been a stop-start opening 10 minutes to this second period.
SAVE! Ruffier with another big stop to deny Martial at the end of one of his mazy runs. The Frenchman managed to get a shot in at the end of it, which was well kept out at the front post, while the follow-up effort was then tipped over.
YELLOW CARD! Ibrahimovic tees up Valencia to send a deflected shot narrowly wide of goal. Saint-Etienne looked to quickly break forward but Herrera used his hand to stop the attack - a clear yellow card offence.
Still too tight to call at Old Trafford. United creating the better chances and asking far more questions of the opposition keeper, but Saint-Etienne also getting forward well and certainly look to have a goal in them at this rate.
CLOSE! Neither team able to create any chances over the past eight minutes or so, but Pogba has just sent a curled just inches wide of the far post - and I mean inches! The camera cuts to a shot of his mother in the stands, sporting a half-and-half scarf.
YELLOW CARD! Vincent Pajot barges into Herrera and is shown the game's third yellow card - Les Verts' first. That is also the cue for a sub to be made for the visitors, as Roux comes on for Jorginho with 25 minutes to go.
YELLOW CARD! Bookings coming thick and fast now, as half-time sub Lingard enters the referee's book for a very high boot on Perrin. Pogba looks to volley the ball towards goal from range, but it is blocked 18 yards out.
OFF THE BAR! Pogba sends a header from close range crashing off the bar. Lovely delivery from Blind and the Frenchman should have been doing better from there, with Saint-Etienne's defenders falling asleep.
MANCHESTER UNITED SUB! Juan Mata concedes a free kick to end a United attack, and that will prove to be his final mark on the match. Marcus Rashford is on in his place, looking to make an impression after starting the last two games on the bench.
YELLOW CARD! More cards than chances in this second half, unfortunately, as Pogba sees yellow for catching his opponent late. You have to wonder whether the Red Devils will see this as a good result come full time - IF it stays that way.
CLOSE! ASSE with a glorious chance to steal an equaliser with 15 minutes to go, but substitute Nolan Roux lifted the ball over Romero and on to the roof of the net when through. There appears to be another goal in this match.
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 SAINT-ETIENNE (ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC)
Ibrahimovic just cannot stop scoring against Saint-Etienne! Rashford created this potentially pivotal second, charging down the left and cutting the ball back into a decent area. Ruffier got a touch but Ibra was there to pounce and blast home his second.
CLOSE! A third for United will essentially kill the tie ahead of the second leg, and Lingard nearly got it. The midfielder's shot curled narrowly wide of the post, with Ruffier diving across in an attempt to push it aside.
Galtier no doubt wants full time right about now, with his team desperately struggling to get a touch of the ball. ASSE did win themselves a free kick, though, which leads to another one immediately after due to a handball infringement.
The second free kick comes to little, and Saivet could not do anything with the rebound as he got the ball stuck under his feet and eventually sent it into the side-netting. Into the final seven minutes now and United will be happy to see things out.
MANCHESTER UNITED SUB! Another good, positive display from Martial tonight. The Frenchman, who had a couple of shots kept out, is replaced by Ashley Young out wide for the closing stages at Old Trafford.
PENALTY TO MANCHESTER UNITED! Ibrahimovic is a genius in these positions - as seen with the free kick he scored from a little earlier. The striker gets his body in the way and waits for the contact, which duly arrived to give United a pen.
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 3-0 SAINT-ETIENNE (ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC, PENALTY)
No mistake made by Ibrahimovic, who has bagged himself a hat-trick from the spot - his first for United. That also makes it a whopping 17 career goals against the French club, who now have a serious mountain to climb next week.
Four minutes of added time to play in this second leg. United now need to remain professional for the remainder and not concedes a needless goal; an away strike will certainly make things far more interesting at the midway stage in the tie.
FULL TIME! MANCHESTER UNITED 3-0 SAINT-ETIENNE
The full-time whistle sounds at Old Trafford, with Paul Pogba's free kick - sent curling agonisingly wide of goal - bringing proceedings to a close. For 75 minutes it was an entertaining game that could well have gone either way, but in the end Zlatan Ibrahimovic's quality came through as Manchester United scored two more to see off Saint-Etienne 3-0 in this first leg.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at Old Trafford. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while a roundup of the night's other action can be found right here. Thanks for joining, and be sure to join us next Wednesday for the return leg!
