Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the scoresheet as Manchester United are through to the Round of 32 in Europa League

Henrikh Mkhitaryan proved his worth, again, this time on a chilly night in Ukraine.

It was a cold performance from Manchester United against a mediocre opponents in the first half as there was no change on the scoreboard.

Manchester United just needed a draw to seal their qualification to the next round, but a win was must for them given the recent run of form they have had in premier league.

Too much of draws had kept the Red Devils faithfuls waiting for a win for a long time. And this was the correct opportunity to boost the moral despite not so favorable conditions.

After a stale first half, Mkhitaryan stepped up to spark some life into the United attack as he single handedly dismantled the Zorya defense, sprinting all the way from halftime into the box and a finish into the bottom right corner, to get his first goal in United colours.

It was a reminiscence of his Shakhtar Donetsk days as he continued his excellent run of form against the Ukranian clubs.

Zorya too had their chances, but they weren't incisive enough to get past Sergio Romero.

United took the 2-0 lead and put the game to bed in the ending minutes with a goal from inevitable Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who beat the offside trap to reach Paul Pogba through ball and without any hesitance put the ball onto the back of the net in one on one situation.

Manchester United fans enjoyed the game from the stands as they traveled 1500 miles to watch their team.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Mourinho explains omission of Mkhitaryan from weekend tie against Arsenal

Mourinho says he will start Henrikh Mkhitaryan against Feyenoord Rotterdam in Europa League tie.

After signing from Borussia Dortmund in summer, the Armenian hasn't been given any real opportunity the Premier league. He has made only one start in this season. And Jose Mourinho explains why he didn't brought him in Saturday's game vs Arsenal.

"I told him, 'This[Arsenal] was not the game for you, I don't think you need 10 or 20 minutes from the bench, I think you need a good game and you need to either start or if not to come(on) for the second half," Mourinho said.

"He needs less pressure and better conditions for him to express his qualities."

Mkhitaryan to play against Feyenoord

Mourinho insisted the 27-year old Armenian will play against Feyenoord Rotterdam.

"Yes(he is getting closer)," Mourinho said.
"I told him he is getting to be involved in the game against Feyenoord. He is trying. Obviously he is not happy but he is transforming his frustration a good way, which is (to) close the mouth and work hard and try to adapt."

Mkhitaryan last appeared on the field in Turkey. When Manchester lost to Fenerbahce. He was brought in as a substitute.

With this announcement, Red devils fans will be hoping to see the talented midfielder make a mark.

©sportskafun.blogspot.com

Thibaut Courtois picks his favorite manager

Current Chelsea FC goalkeeper names the manager whom he feels works most tactically of the three.

Courtois has played under 2 different managers, Diego Simeone and José Mourinho, winning League titles in Spain and England respectively. This season he is playing under Antonio Conte and has been in a fine touch lately.
Conte's Chelsea team has been in an excellent run of form. Players like Eden Hazard, Diego Costa have regained their momentum and goal scoring instinct which was missing under José Mourinho last season.

When he was asked to rate his managers, he said, " Conte is the one that works most tactically. Then there is Diego Simeone, then Mourinho and finally Marc Wilmots."

He also explains why he feels Antonio Conte is a master tactician.

After poor last season, Chelsea football club, under Antonio Conte started the season positively winning their first 3 matches, but he reveals what and how Conte changed as a tactician.

He says the loss against Arsenal sparked a change, "We started the season 4-3-3. We started well with three wins but then we drew 2-2 against Swansea and lost against Liverpool playing a bad game. That was also the case against Arsenal. Then Conte said 'we will change'. At Hull things were rather mixed at first and then against Leicester, Manchester United, Southampton and especially against Everton, we really saw the quality of the team."

"In pre-season he tried 4-2-4 but he saw that it was not working very well, so he went to 4-3-3 because he knew Eden Hazard and Willian were strong in one against ones. But he found that too many avoidable goals were scored and decided to play safely by moving three at the back."

Chelsea are yet to concede a goal since they switched from 4-3-3 to 3-4-3.
Against Everton they were simply scintillating. So it proves out to be that Antonio Conte is one smart tactician.


©sportskafun.blogspot.com

7 players to miss Manchester United's clash against Arsenal

The task getting tougher for José Mourinho and Manchester United 

It's been said that seven players are about to miss one of the most important clash of the season.

Manchester United made a perfect start to the season winning their first 3 matches but after that they didn't manage to click , lost their rhythm and now find themselves lagging behind at 6th position. 

As they face Asene Wenger's fourth placed Arsenal this Saturday, it will be a daunting task for them given the fact that several first team players will miss the match. 

Two of Manchester United's four summer signings will miss the clash, Eric Bailly who sustained a ligament injury a couple of games ago will miss and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who got his fifth yellow card of the season in previous match against Swansea will be serving his first suspension of the season. It will be a huge boost for Arsenal as Eric Bailly is considered as one of the best defenders this season and Zlatan Ibrahimovic regained his goal scoring form after scoring a brace. 

Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw are also suffering injury crisis, but even they are fit they will hardly be picked as they were openly criticized by the gaffer recently for not committing  enough to the winning cause. 

Marouane Fellaini also picked up a knock on international break and will be facing a race against time to be fit for the weekend clash. 

Wayne Rooney in the match against Scotland also picked up a minor knee injury and returned to Manchester. He also missed the friendly against Spain last Tuesday and is most likely to miss Arsenal game. 

Last one is right back Antonio Valencia, who is recovering from a fractured arm at a much quicker rate will be kept on the bench as José Mourinho wouldn't want to risk him. 

Arsenal also have their own injury problems 

Santi Cazorla will not be there as his return date is not confirmed. 

Hector Bellerin picked up an injury while on duty with Spain U-23 squad and may miss the game. 

Alexis Sanchez's selection in Chile squad was questioned by Arsene Wenger as he was suffering from muscle injury but he seemed to have overcome his injury after featuring in the game against Uruguay and also scoring a brace.

Though, Arsenal will make sure he is completely fit before crunch clash once he returns to Emirates. 

It will be a huge boost for Arsenal if he is in the squad. 

Manchester United hosts Arsenal this Saturday in a crucial Premier League clash. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com