Match ends, Manchester United 3, St Etienne 0.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first hat-trick for Manchester United and the 17th of his career in a Europa League win over Saint-Etienne at Old Trafford.
Ibrahimovic's deflected free-kick wrong-footed goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier and dribbled over the line for the opener, and he tapped home from close range after good work from Marcus Rashford, as well as adding a late penalty - his 23rd goal of the season.
Saint-Etienne caused United problems on the break in the first 45 minutes, particularly with Romain Hamouma's pace, while Henri Saivet and Nolan Roux both clipped efforts narrowly off target.
Ruffier's double save denied Juan Mata, Anthony Martial forced the visiting goalkeeper into sharp saves and Paul Pogba headed against the crossbar from close range.
The two sides meet for the second leg on Wednesday, 22 February (kick-off 17:00 GMT).
It's Zlat man again
There were question marks over the signing of veteran striker Ibrahimovic on a free transfer from Paris St-Germain in the summer, but the former Sweden international has responded by taking his tally to 23 for the season.
The 35-year-old former Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan man has now netted 17 career hat-tricks. It was his first since joining United, his second in European competition and his third against Saint-Etienne.
"Every time I have played against Saint-Etienne, with hard work there has been a couple of goals," Ibrahimovic said after the game. "I have scored a couple of goals tonight and hopefully I can do the same next week."
The Ligue 1 side will be pleased to see the back of Ibrahimovic when he retires having scored 17 times against them during his career.
Ibrahimovic has 11 titles and three domestic cups to his name, but a major European trophy remains missing from his illustrious CV.
Cup treble on for United?
Like Ibrahimovic, United have never won this competition, but the result keeps alive their hopes of a cup treble this season. They face Blackburn in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday and Southampton in the EFL Cup final the following week.
In his first season at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho's side are just two points off a Champions League spot in the league, but triumph in the Europa League would give them an automatic passage through to Europe's elite club competition.
Against Saint-Etienne, the Red Devils tested Ruffier on numerous occasions but he was left floundering for the first goal, while his parry into the danger area allowed the second.
On the other hand, the Ligue 1 side carved United's backline open with ease at times, with defender Eric Bailly looking particularly suspect, but they failed to work goalkeeper Sergio Romero into a single save with their 14 shots.
Pogba brothers do battle
The world's most expensive player, Paul Pogba, was up against his brother Florentin, who was signed by the French side for 500,000 euros in 2012.
Mother Yeo and third brother Mathias watched from the stands as the two shared a warm embrace before kick-off, with the elder sibling Florentin sporting a number 19 on one side of his head and his brother's six on the other.
"It is something very magical, it does not happen every day and I really enjoyed playing against my brother," said the United player.
France international Paul showed why the club spent £89m to sign him from Juventus in the summer with a dominant midfield performance in which he controlled the tempo of the match.
However, on one occasion he inadvertently gave the ball away to Florentin, whose burst forward eventually saw the ball reach Saivet, but the on-loan Newcastle man could not find the target with his shot.
Florentin's rising drive in the first half almost saw him nick an away goal for his side, while Paul wasted good chances in the second period, the best of which came as he headed against the woodwork when unmarked.
The Saint-Etienne defender's evening ended early as he hobbled off with an injury with 12 minutes remaining.
Dressing room warning for Mourinho
While his side ran out comfortable winners in the end, Mourinho was not happy with the start his side made, and accused his players of lacking focus.
"In the first half, we played so bad, and we managed to finish it winning 1-0 when we don't deserve," he said.
"It was down to lack of concentration. I had the feeling immediately in the dressing room - too noisy, too funny, too relaxed. Then my assistants had the feeling in the warm-up, with some of the guys not really focused on getting the right adrenaline in their bodies.
"So, lack of concentration. And when you don't have it, it's difficult to recover it. So the first half was hard. We were lucky to be winning 1-0. I am not happy with it. I always think we have to play every game with the same attitude."
He said the second half was a "different story" and brushed off suggestions the players lacked focus because they were playing in the less-heralded Europa League than the premier European competition, the Champions League: "We don't play Champions League, so if that is the case I would prefer to play in the Europa League than be at home watching TV. So I think with the players it is the same."
United watertight at the back - the stats
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had a hand in 18 goals in 17 appearances at Old Trafford this season (12 goals, six assists).
- Jose Mourinho has kept five consecutive clean sheets as a manager for the first time since November 2011 when he was Real Madrid boss.
- Goalkeeper Sergio Romero has kept six consecutive clean sheets for United and hasn't conceded a goal since an Alex Revell penalty for Northampton in September 2016.
- The Red Devils have won three consecutive European games without conceding a goal for the first time since November 2010 under Sir Alex Ferguson.
- Despite not registering their first shot until the 30th minute, Saint-Etienne had 11 shots in the first half, the most by an opponent at Old Trafford in the first half of a match since Athletic Bilbao had 13 in March 2013.
'A decisive moment'
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic told BT Sport: "We created good chances. It was important to get a good win at home and we bring it with us in the second leg. It was a good game but I think we can do better.
"We are winning but in a short time everything can change. It's important to keep getting the wins we need. Everything can change but we're happy at the moment.
"This is the decisive moment for the season. We are still in all four competitions. The fifth we already won [the Community Shield]."
What next?
Manchester United travel to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup on Sunday (kick-off 16:15 GMT), while Saint-Etienne face Montpellier in Ligue 1 on the same day (kick-off 16:00 GMT).
Line-ups
Man Utd
Formation 4-3-3
- 20Romero
- 25A Valencia
- 3Bailly
- 12Smalling
- 17Blind
- 27FellainiSubstituted forLingardat 45'minutesBooked at 67mins
- 21HerreraBooked at 58mins
- 6PogbaBooked at 71mins
- 8MataSubstituted forRashfordat 70'minutes
- 9Ibrahimovic
- 11MartialBooked at 47minsSubstituted forYoungat 85'minutes
Substitutes
- 1de Gea
- 5Rojo
- 14Lingard
- 18Young
- 19Rashford
- 31Schweinsteiger
- 36Darmian
Saint-Étienne
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 16Ruffier
- 25Malcuit
- 2Théophile-Catherine
- 24Perrin
- 19PogbaSubstituted forBericat 79'minutes
- 14Veretout
- 5PajotBooked at 64minsSubstituted forSelnaesat 72'minutes
- 26Barbosa IntimaSubstituted forRouxat 65'minutes
- 11Saivet
- 22Monnet-Paquet
- 21Hamouma
Substitutes
- 4Lacroix
- 9Roux
- 17Selnaes
- 18Lemoine
- 27Beric
- 30Moulin
- 31Pierre Gabriel
- Referee:
- Pavel Kralovec
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home62%
- Away38%
- Shots
- Home21
- Away14
- Shots on Target
- Home8
- Away0
- Corners
- Home5
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home15
- Away16
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Manchester United 3, St Etienne 0.
Post update
Attempt missed. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
Post update
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Ole Selnaes (St Etienne).
Post update
Offside, St Etienne. Kevin Malcuit tries a through ball, but Nolan Roux is caught offside.
Goal!
Goal! Manchester United 3, St Etienne 0. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Post update
Penalty Manchester United. Zlatan Ibrahimovic draws a foul in the penalty area.
Post update
Penalty conceded by Kévin Théophile-Catherine (St Etienne) after a foul in the penalty area.
Post update
Foul by Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).
Post update
Kevin Malcuit (St Etienne) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester United. Ashley Young replaces Anthony Martial.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Henri Saivet (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Post update
Hand ball by Anthony Martial (Manchester United).
Post update
Attempt blocked. Henri Saivet (St Etienne) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Post update
Foul by Eric Bailly (Manchester United).
Post update
Jordan Veretout (St Etienne) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Paul Pogba with a cross.
Post update
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Henri Saivet.
Post update
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Loic Perrin.
Comments
Join the conversation
He's utter class.
"Yes we may have lost 5-1 last night, but at least we play in a PROPER tournament and doing it with class.'
How on earth can you lose 5-1 'with class'?
Guess what, it'll still say Zlatan hat - trick United - 3 St Etienne - 0 in the papers tmrrw
United have a much better return from their investment.
Liverpool's failure to deal with fixture congestion this season shows a lack of depth for spend!
Well done Utd!
Total Spend on players since the inception of the premier league in 92-93 season
Liverpool 588million
Manchester United 533 million
And neither were close to the top two of Chelsea and Manchester City
Guess the argument about Manchester United being the biggest spender does not stack up.
You need to check your numbers. Chelsea and City have massively out spent United in the PL era, and most of that in the last 10 years.
As for Liverpool they are not that far behind United in terms of spending. If you convert spending into trophies, United blow everyone out of the water.
"This is such a poor standard tournament. Compare this to Bayern .....PSG....Madrid.."
If you knew anything about football you know PSG are just the french equivalent of Man City. Going nowhere for a few decades and currently on the map due to middle east money. Neither club is fit to lick the boots of Madrid or Bayern!
"Penny for your thoughts Zlatan"
Maybe something like this....
I'm a millionaire with nothing to prove to anybody in the football world. I've got over 20 goals this season at 35 years of age playing for one of the worlds biggest clubs. You on the otherhand work much longer hours for peanuts or you're searching for work.
As for the fans mocking other teams, childish and unnecessary. Enjoy the night. Jeeez
Zlatan scored against City, Everton, Liverpool and the current Champions.
Of the top 5 league scorers this term he's on a par with Costa (scored against the exact same teams).
Only Defoe has a better record against 'top teams' this season... and how that's working out for him and Sunderland?
The notion that goals against weaker teams don't mean as much is ridiculous. A win is a win!
it's only a game
and your team didn't even play
if Man United enjoyed a bit of luck last night
I am sorry
but the problem with luck it's sort of uncontrollable
now for those ABU out there I thought you would be delighted with United competing in all 4 competition that they stated
I mean they can't win them all?
CAN THEY?