JOSE Mourinho’s men play the first leg at Balaidos on May 4 with the return leg at Old Trafford on May 11. In the other semi-final Ajax take on Lyon with the first leg in Amsterdam.
United have never played the Spanish outfit before in any competition but will consider themselves in the driving seat against a Celta side mid-table in La Liga. Mourinho and several members of the squad was pictured arriving at Carrington where they no doubt watched the draw unfold as a squad.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic potentially missing after collecting a knee injury in the quarter-final win over Anderlecht, Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Wayne Rooney and Co. will know they cannot afford to put the brakes their charge to the final.
England’s final European representative were made to sweat by Anderlecht on Thursday night, with Marcus Rashford eventually settling a breathless quarter-final second leg 2-1 after extra-time, seeing the Reds through 3-2 on aggregate.
United’s opponents progressed from the quarter-finals after following up a 3-2 home win against Genk by drawing Thursday’s second leg 1-1 in Belgium.
Celta have never reached the semi-final of any European competition before, with their best runs in the Europa League and UEFA Cup ending at the quarter-final stage.
In their lone Champions League campaign Celta were knocked out by English opposition. Arsenal beat Radomir Antic’s side 5-2 on aggregate with the first leg on that occasion also at Balaidos.
There is a familiar face in the Celticos’ ranks, Giuseppe Rossi began his career with United before moving on to establish himself as a deadly, if a little unfortunate, forward in Serie A and La Liga.
After scoring a hat-trick in early March against Las Palmas Rossi ruled himself out for the rest of the season, rupturing his cruciate ligaments in Celta’s 3-0 win over Granada.
Celta’s top scorer Iago Aspas endured an underwhelming spell at Liverpool, while fellow attacker John Guidetti came through the ranks at Manchester City.
United are seeking to win Europe’s second-tier competition for the first time, which would earn them direct entry into next season’s Champions League.
The other semi-final sides Lyon and Ajax have faced off four times in the Champions League group stage, with the Dutch side winning twice and the clubs drawing twice.
The final in Stockholm at the Friends Arena takes place on May 24.
SOURCE: MARCA
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