Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said that Wayne Rooney had given the team what they needed when the forward came off the bench and helped them defeat Zorya Luhansk on Thursday.
Rooney came on as a substitute in the 67th minute with the score tied at 0-0 and replaced Jesse Lingard -- and the United captain inadvertently assisted on the only goal of the game within two minutes of being on the field. Rooney produced a mis-kick, which was headed in by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Speaking in his post-match news conference, Mourinho said: "He [Rooney] was laughing and saying that he made a great assist. But he gave me what the team needed at that time -- a second presence in the box. He is more a striker. [Anthony] Martial also brought freshness and speed [coming on in the 74th minute]."
United had fielded a strong side, including starts for Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, and Mourinho felt that the difficulty of the game showed why he needed to do that. Having lost their opening Europa League game, 1-0 away to Feyenoord, the United manager was not prepared to take risks.
Mourinho said: "We started with a very good team. We had also options on the bench. We need to be good to win matches in the Europa League. We need to play seriously.
"It was hard work. They were very well-organised defensively. They were trying to delay, delay, delay, which they did."
Discussing the game on Thursday night, Zorya Luhansk head coach Yuriy Vernydub said: "I was very happy with my guys. We played at the same level as Manchester United. They're world class and we're from a small city.
"We were playing well and did not give Manchester United a chance to realise their opportunities. In my eyes, the game should have been a draw. The goal that was scored was a silly goal."