Man United brace for Europa League pitch battle despite Mourinho plea

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho’s wish to have the Europa League clash at Rostov called off due to the state of the pitch has fallen on deaf ears, with Uefa confirming it will go ahead as planned despite the surface not being in “perfect condition”.

Having described the last-16 tie as a “bad draw in every aspect”, the United manager’s feelings only worsened upon inspection of the Olimp-2 Stadium surface ahead of the first leg.

Mourinho compared the pitch to the Bird’s Nest quagmire that saw United’s money-spinning pre-season friendly against Manchester City in Beijing called off last summer.