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

Will Manchester United play Zorya tonight? Find out here

Dip in temperature in Ukraine's Odessa raised a cloud of doubts whether the Europa league clash between Zorya Luhansk and Manchester United will go ahead or not.

It was feared that United's trip to Ukraine may turn out to nothing as the pitch would froze because of the chilly weather.

Several measures had been taken to combat the hard conditions. Hot air balloon has been blown under the pitch covers overnight to save the pitch for match.

Jose Mourinho showed his unhappiness over the match being conducted in Ukraine in the month of December, when the weather is not helpful.

Despite all the adversities, UEFA is hopeful that the match will go underway as scheduled on the Thursday night.

The ground staff at the Chornomorets Stadium has been doing all the hard-work to prevent the pitch from frost.

UEFA delegates held a pitch inspection at 8am GMT on Thursday morning and one official said, " The pitch is at it's coldest now. The temperature is only going to rise during the day."

Following the inspection, a Zorya official said, "Everything depends on the weather and the pitch isn't brilliant at the moment, but we expect temperatures of two or three degrees and everything should be okay."

Daley Blind was heard to tell team-mates that the pitch was 'like rock' when United trained at the stadium on Wednesday night, and Mourinho expressed his concerns over the playing surface at his pre-match press conference.

"The pitch is hard and very icy,’ said the United boss. ‘I think UEFA know the conditions of the pitch and everybody knows that in mid-December the conditions in Ukraine and Eastern Europe are more difficult.

"If UEFA are worried about it they should change the fixtures and not allow them to be played in mid-December. If the fifth fixture is here it’s the end of November and not mid-December and that’s the problem.

"Hotel good, stadium good, pitch bad. But it’s very cold. I know it’s difficult to have a better pitch. The stadium is beautiful and new. The pitch is the same. They are trying. They are putting some warmth on it, but it’s very difficult and people cannot make miracles. Let’s hope everything goes okay."

Manchester United just need a point to secure their place in the next round of UEFA Europa League. 

©sportskafun.blogspot.com