– we were cruel

• AC Milan 0-1 Manchester United (1-2 overall)

The starting point was easy for Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Manchester United: the team had to score against AC Milan at the San Siro on Thursday night.

The first match of the Europa League quarterfinals ended 1-1. And after a boring first half, it exploded after a night break in Milan.

Paul Pogba had been on the field for four minutes. The 1-0 score came after a little back and forth within 16 meters. The Frenchman caught the ball at point-blank range and delivered it in the short corner for Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

This was the only goal of the match. Manchester United are ready for the quarter-finals after 2-1 overall. But left-back Luke Shaw isn’t very happy with the performance.

– We are obviously happy to move on. But I have to be honest. And the boys and the coaches agree: we weren’t very good. Especially at first we were cruel.

Shaw continues:

– We started the first 10-15 minutes well. We had control of the ball, but then we flipped the switch. We give away balls. In the second half, it helped to have a world-class player like Paul Pogba. He can make a difference. And he did. But we have to be better than tonight.

Solskjær says:

– I am happy by nature. We went through a tough match against a fantastic team.

The winning goal ended a difficult time for Pogba. Before the game, he had been out with a thigh injury since February 6, when United played 3-3 at Everton.

The goal was the second as a substitute for United. He has entered from the bench 31 times.

– We have missed Paul, says Solskjær.

– He has been out for almost two months and all teams would have missed a player like him. He makes a huge difference to us.

The first half was bad luck. There was some drama when Daniel James fell to the ground after 20 minutes. However, Fikayo Tomori was left complaining to the referee asking for the defender’s handball.

Bruno Fernandes had a good chance to attack in the middle, but remembered the instructions to focus on attacks on the wing. Rade Krunic also had a useful opportunity for the home team. The charge for the night was not set here either.

– There was no smell of goals from either team, summed up TV 2 expert Nils Johan Semb after the first half.

Paul Pogba started on the bench, along with, among others, David de Gea. But when break music rang out at the San Siro, the clear signal came from Solskjær. And it couldn’t have started better, scoring.

With the visitors 1-0 in the 49th minute, the game had suddenly changed character. Now it was Milan who had to go ahead and score.

Player Zlatan Ibrahimovic had to leave the pitch in the 65th minute due to a knee injury.

The Swede was marked with a head butt when he crushed Luke Shaw in midair just a quarter of an hour before the end. It ended in nothing, and the replay photos showed Zlatan gasping for air.

This was never the night for the home team. Did you miss Jens Petter Hauge, who was shipwrecked in Europa League matches?

Manchester United meet Leicester in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.

– A new quarterfinal. We look forward to that, says Solskjær.