Ibrahimović hat-trick puts United in command
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E-mail Xinhua, February 17, 2017
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Ibrahimovic walks off with the match ball. |
Overwhelmed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic's hat-trick, Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne lost 3-0 to Manchester United in the first-leg of the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday.
The contest between the Pogba brothers on the two sides did not amount to much, turning it into a solo act for the Swedish striker, who finished his first hat-trick since he joined Manchester United from French league defending champions Paris Saint-Germain during the offseason, bringing his tally for the Red Devils to a total of 23 this season.
Jose Mourinho's side went ahead 15 minutes into the game on Ibrahimovic's deflected free-kick by Saint-Etienne player Vincent Pajot past helpless goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier.
In the 75th minute, substitute in the second half Marcus Rashford darted to the paint from the left, before his stitching pass found the Swede, and the latter tapped the ball into an empty goal.
Ibrahimovic finished his sumptuous night with a penalty two minutes into injury time, awarded on his own effort when he was trapped on the heel by Kevin Theophile-Catherine.
With a three-goal advantage in hand, United was one foot into the last 16, while one concern for them was that their midfielder Ander Herrera will miss next Wednesday's return leg due to an automatic one-game suspension after receiving a yellow card for a handball.
In contrast to Saint-Etienne's lackluster performance at Old Trafford, another Ligue 1 side still alive in the tournament Lyon thrashed AZ Alkmaar of the Dutch league 4-1, with their top scorer Alexandre Lacazette recording a brace in both halves of game.
Roma striker Edin Dzeko also welcomed a hat-trick night in a 4-0 lopsided win against Villarreal, leading the tournament's scoring list with eight.
Also on Thursday, Moenchengladbach lost to Fiorentina 1-0, Schalke 04 took out PAOK 3-0, and Athletic Bilbao got past APOEL 3-2.
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