The gamble paid off. Just. Manchester United are where Jose Mourinho thought they would be: one game from the Champions League and a second trophy this season.
But what a scare they got. An 85th goal minute goal from Facundo Roncaglia set up a finish full of tension, on the pitch as well as of it.
In a melee the minute after Celta Vigo’s equaliser, goalscorer Roncaglia and Manchester United defender Eric Bailly were sent off. Bailly, it seemed, the victim of some play-acting by John Guidetti. He will miss the final, although that is not the blow it would have been, United’s defensive crisis now passed.