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Europa League Talking Points: Manchester United get the job done as Southampton bow out

Southampton and Man United had contrasting fortunes

Mkhitaryan needs to be chief string puller

Manchester United were faced with a pitch more suited to Olympic ice skaters than a team of exorbitantly paid footballers in fancy boots, however they dug in to secure their qualification.

The case for Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s regular inclusion as chief goal architect was also strengthened further with another virtuoso display.

Borussia Dortmund’s loss has definitely been Old Trafford’s gain finally after Jose Mourinho’s reluctance to blood him properly earlier in the season.

The Armenian has looked a breath of fresh air in a side packed with midfielders who have either run out of ideas or have been playing in the wrong position under The Special One’s dubious tactical missives.

The 27-year-old is definitely a better long-term bet than the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Memphis Depay playing alongside a combination of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Andrea Herrera.

Saints boss Puel is skating on thin ice himself

Southampton’s away woes have been chronicled a great deal in the press, not least in this column, but they were at least expected to see off Hapoel Beer Sheva at home to wrap up qualification.

They could only muster one goal and left it until injury time to pop it in - a sad indictment on Puel’s stewardship.

Main goal threat Charlie Austin may have only lasted 39 minutes before injury curtailed his night, however they could still call upon established international Shane Long to partner Nathan Redmond.

Quite why James Ward-Prowse was left twiddling his fingers on the bench for 82 minutes is anyone’s guess, while his fellow midfielders struggled to fashion clear cut chances off the back of decent possession.

With no Europa League games to focus on now after the limp exit, Puel needs a feisty run in the Premier League before Christmas to keep the hatchet men from giving him the chop in time for the turkey.

Saint-Etienne unbeaten heading into knockouts

Group C has been a fascinating three-way tussle between eventual winners Saint-Etienne, fellow qualifiers Anderlecht and the odd team out Mainz.

Azerbaijan outfit Gabala were on the end of six defeats to the tune of 14 goals in the back of their net, so it was the games between the other three that dictated who won through.

Thankfully for the Belgians, even if they failed to triumph at home they were guaranteed progress.

They came out the traps strongly, though, to go two goals up with barely half an hour gone. Sadly for the home fans, they took their foot off the pedal after the break.

Norwegian forward Alexander Søderlund bagged a quickfire brace to level for Saint-Etienne, leaving Kévin Monnet-Paquet to apply the finishing touch with their goal threat spread out intriguingly around the team for the next stage.

AZ Alkmaar gaining momentum at the right time

The Eredivisie is a notoriously frustrating league to predict, let alone the European chances of the teams that ply their trade in it.

AZ Alkmaar went into the last round of matches in Group D needing to beat Zenit Saint Petersburg at home to seal knockout progress.

With Maccabi Tel Aviv favourites to defeat Dundalk in their final home decider, the pressure was very much on John van den Brom’s outfit.

They rose to the challenge in glorious fashion, skipper for the night Ben Rienstra and Ridgeciano Haps putting them two goals to the good before Zenit threatened a comeback.

AZ, though, had the bit between their teeth and Muamer Tanković settled their nerves with a deserved third to join Zenit in the next round where they will be a dangerous prospect for whoever draws them on the 12th December in Nyon.

Krasnodar are hungry for more Europa scalps

Red Bull Salzburg and Nice will not be contesting the next round of the Europa League, which might come as a surprise to many who looked at Group I from the outset.

Schalke racked up five wins out of six to qualify easily as winners, leaving Krasnodar the chance to get in through the back door to boot.

Salzburg might have produced a gutsy performance to win 2-0 at home to Schalke, however Krasnodar’s goal in a 2-1 loss at Nice edged them through.

Fyodor Smolov put them in front at the Stage de Nice, captain Andreas Granqvist’s subsequent red card seeing the French side energised into action.

Russian international Smolov’s prolific form this season has been a boon to manager Igor Shalimov, while Brazilian Ari is also no stranger to the back of the net since his arrival back in 2013 heading into the fascinating round of 32.

Join me on 16th February for the next round of reflection.

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