FC Rostov 1-1 Manchester United: Uefa Europa League as it happened

That is all we have time for tonight, thanks for following along. Stay tuned to IBTimes UK for the latest post-match reaction from Mourinho.

Goodbye for now.

So a fine second-half effort from Bukharov cancels out Mkhitaryan's opener and leaves the tie level heading into next Thursday's second leg at Old Trafford.

Mourinho will not be pleased with his team's defending for the equaliser, but an away goal and no obvious injuries - despite playing on such a bad surface - still constitutes a relatively satisfying evening's work. His players also adapted fairly well to a new shape.

Next up for United is the small matter of that FA Cup quarter-final trip to Chelsea on Monday night. Rostov host Terek Grozny in the Russian Premier League on Sunday.

Full-time

Rostov 1-1 Manchester United

Almost a chance for United to snatch victory at the death. Martial is unable to make contact with the ball after a mistimed header from Fellaini.

Two changes from Mourinho in stoppage time. Blind and Herrera are replaced by Valencia and Carrick.

The ball is delivered to the back post, where Gatcan is whistled for a foul on Jones.

Three minutes of added time have been signalled by the fourth official.

Fellaini rises highest to head clear a late Rostov corner. The hosts win a free-kick after Pogba fouls Gatcan.

Could they grab a second goal at the death here?

Gatcan lofts a well-struck half-volley straight at Romero after Rostov look to create havoc with a dangerous long ball forward.

Rojo again denies Azmoun with a vital last-ditch challenge.

A crucial foot from Rojo stops Azmoun from wriggling free inside the United penalty area.

More good play from Kalachev. How he will be ruing that earlier yellow card.

Ibrahimovic collides awkwardly with Mevlja and stays grounded in pain. The pitch certainly did him no favours there.

Ibrahimovic appeals in vain for a penalty after Blind's free-kick is missed by Rojo and cannons quickly into the arm of an unsuspecting Miha Mevlja.

Herrera is then cautioned for a late foul on Poloz.

Mourinho has cut a frustrated figure on the sideline tonight and he now engages in a bit of verbals with Kalachev.

Kalachev drives a wild shot high and wide. Both goalscorers are now off the pitch, with Bukharov making way for the highly-regarded Azmoun.

Wing-back Kalachev, one of Rostov's best performers tonight, is shown a yellow card and will join skipper Gatcan in sitting out the second leg. Two big misses for Daniliants.

After 67 minutes, Mourinho looks to his bench for the first time. Martial jogs on in place of goalscorer Mkhitaryan.

Fellaini heads weakly into the arms of Medvedev after a wicked corner from Blind.

At the other end, a short free-kick is headed on to centre-back Navas, who cannot find a good finish.

Poloz finds Erokhin, who sends shot wide after an unfortunate bobble.

A fine tackle from Smalling dispossesses Aleksandr Erokhin and wins United a goal kick.

He had to get that right, otherwise it would have been a penalty.

That Rostov equaliser has injected some much-needed tempo into the game.

Noboa nips in ahead of Herrera and somehow collects a yellow card. That looked a bizarre decision from the referee.

Handball, perhaps?

Mourinho will be livid with how much time and space Kalachev had to pick out that pass.

United caught sleeping in midfield.

Out of nowhere, the hosts draw level.

Bukharov runs off the back of Smalling and takes Kalachev's brilliant long pass on his chest before steering past Romero in one fluid movement. Great finish.

Suddenly this tie just got a whole lot more interesting.

Goal: Rostov 1-1 Manchester United (Aleksandr Bukharov)

Young slices an effort wide after a low pass across the six-yard box from birthday boy Blind is dummied by Ibrahimovic.

With the ball out of play, Navas goes to ground after a collision with Pogba.

Ibrahimovic takes aim from the edge of the box but fires his effort over the top.

The second half is off and running. No further changes at the interval.

Providing he stayed awake for the entirety of that first half, Mourinho should be pretty pleased with what he's seen. His side, operating in a different system, look entirely comfortable and will hope to take a healthy lead back to Manchester for next week's second leg.

No injuries yet either, which is always a bonus. Mkhitaryan has been sharp on his return from injury.

And there ends a pretty appalling opening 45 minutes that was only briefly illuminated by that Mkhitaryan goal. Rostov have certainly not lacked effort, but they look notably short on quality. You wonder how long it will be before we see Azmoun.

Half-time

Rostov 0-1 Manchester United

A dangerous cross intended for Ibrahimovic is authoritatively plucked out of the air by Medvedev.

Rostov pour forward on the counter and initially get behind United's defence. However, Gatcan is unable to prevent the ball from deflecting off his legs and out for a goal kick after a good tackle from Rojo.

Two minutes of added time have been signalled by the fourth official at the end of this first half.

Bukharov treads on Rojo and has his name taken by German referee Felix Zwayer. That looked a painful one.

Rostov survive a corner and then commit lots of small fouls to try and disrupt United's rhythm.

A skewed cross from Herrera loops awkwardly into the air before being dealt with by Medvedev.

Rostov come back firing, with Noboa testing Romero and Terentyev trying his luck with a strong header from distance.

This has been a dire half of football, but that was an undeniably good goal. Clever play from Mkhitaryan to pull back and take advantage of that space in the middle of the six-yard box.

That was his third goal in five Europa League appearances so far this season.

Action at last. A sweeping cross-field pass from Jones is chested down by Fellaini, who does well to release Ibrahimovic.

The Swedish striker then cuts the ball back for Mkhitaryan to sweep home from close range.

First blood to United.

Goal: Rostov 0-1 Manchester United (Henrikh Mkhitaryan)

A determined Fellaini almost tees up Mkhitaryan, who looked miles offside. Medvedev calmly collects.

Still goalless after half an hour at the Olimp-2. This is a difficult watch, it must be said.

Ibrahimovic, under pressure from Gatcan, blasts an effort over the crossbar.

Right-back Timofei Kalachev swings in a dangerous cross for Rostov, yet it goes to waste as Bukharov is flagged offside.

Kudryashov is back on the pitch. Alexandru Gatcan joins Mkhitaryan in the book after charging carelessly into Ibrahimovic.

The Rostov captain will now be suspended for next week's second leg at Old Trafford.

Kudryashov stays down to receive medical treatment. Daniliants will be desperate not to lose another defender so early having already seen Granat trudge off.

Russian speaker Mkhitaryan defends his actions amid scrutiny from the Rostov players.

Rojo comes across to block a powerful shot from Bukharov. Mkhitaryan then lightly catches Fyodor Kudryashov with an elbow and picks up the first yellow card of the evening.

Granat, continuing to clutch his shoulder, makes way for Denis Terentyev. Rostov forced into their first change before the 20-minute mark.

Vladimir Granat seems to be in some discomfort after a collision with Mkhitaryan. Poloz tries to launch a Rostov attack but his cross sails out of play for a goal kick.

Herrera acrobatically volleys wide, but the whistle had already blown for a foul by Mkhitaryan on Cesar Navas.

A deep right-wing cross from Young was headed back across goal by Ibrahimovic.

It's been a combative start to this match with both teams unsurprisingly looking to go long at every opportunity.

Strong defending from Young to snuff out the danger posed by Noboa. The ball is bouncing around all over the place on this uneven surface.

Pogba is fouled near the right touchline and Blind's curling left-footed delivery gets caught in the wind before being safely claimed by Medvedev.

United are indeed lining up in a 3-5-2 formation with Blind and Young operating as wing-backs on either side.

Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling are the three central defenders.

Experienced Ecuadorian midfielder Christian Noboa with an early sighter for Rostov that is easily saved by Romero.

At the other end, Paul Pogba, criticised for his late miskick against Bournemouth, fails to connect with a low pass and a real chance goes begging.

We are underway on a dreadful pitch in windy Russia. This could be an uncomfortable night for the visitors, who will kick from left to right in this first half.

Both teams have now emerged from the tunnel and we are almost ready to get underway.

238 hardy souls have made the trip from Manchester, with their visa costs covered by the club.

Rostov vs Manchester United is not the only Europa League match taking place tonight, of course. Here is a full list as we close in on kick-off at the Olimp-2:

We'll have half-time and full-time scores from those other seven fixtures for you later on.

A lovely gesture to counteract the numerous scare stories regarding hooliganism, although Rostov-on-Don is expected to be slightly warmer than Manchester this evening. Go figure.

Unlike United, Rostov, formed in 1930, actually spent the opening half of the season playing in the Champions League after a second-place domestic finish in 2015-16 was followed by impressive qualifying victories over Anderlecht and Ajax.

The 2003 Russian Cup winners gave a great account of themselves despite failing to qualify for the knockout phase, finishing above PSV Eindhoven in Group D and memorably defeating Bayern Munich 3-2 in November.

A real force to be reckoned with on their own patch, Rostov are yet to lose a home league game so far this term.

Rostov, in case you didn't know, currently lie seventh in the Russian Premier League after obliterating Tom Tomsk 6-0 on Friday night in their first league outing since returning from a winter break.

Appearing in the knockout stages of a European competition for the very first time, they eased past Sparta Prague in the last-16 after following an emphatic 4-0 home victory with a 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic.

Nikita Medvedev continues between the posts for Rostov with Dzhanaev out. Daniliants look likely to set up in a flexible 5-3-2, with Dmitry Poloz given the nod up top alongside Aleksandr Bukharov.

The Selmashi's best-known player, so-called 'Iranian Messi' Sardar Azmoun, is only named as a substitute. He has reportedly drawn attention from Liverpool and several other European heavyweights following some eye-catching displays.

Mourinho makes seven changes to the side that were frustratingly held by Bournemouth, with Sergio Romero, Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Mkhitaryan all coming in.

David de Gea, Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick, Juan Mata and Anthony Martial drop to the bench alongside Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford. Rooney and Shaw, as mentioned earlier, did not travel to Russia.

It looks a rather curious lineup at first glance and some on social media claim that United may be opting for a three-man defensive system in preparation for their FA Cup quarter-final clash against Chelsea on Monday night.

Uefa are saying that it is a 4-2-3-1 formation. We shall see.

For any Russian linguists among you, here is that confirmed Rostov side...

Slightly comical early confirmation of tonight's lineups. It looks like Mkhitaryan will start after all....

Rostov have a near fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of their first ever meeting with Manchester United, although goalkeeper and one-cap Russian international Soslan Dzhanaev is sidelined through injury.

In terms of team news for tonight's game, Mourinho may now think twice about starting Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian playmaker is fit again after being forced out of the last-32 second-leg victory over Saint-Etienne with a hamstring injury and was part of the 20-man squad that flew to Rostov on Tuesday.

"I don't know what team to play, really," the manager said. "I don't know if Henrikh Mkhitaryan is going to play. I don't know. I have a lot to think about because I was expecting something more playable."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will start despite a looming three-match domestic suspension handed down after he admitted an FA charge of violent conduct relating to his elbow on Tyrone Mings that took place during last weekend's eventful 1-1 Premier League draw with Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

However, Eric Bailly is suspended following his red card against Saint-Etienne. Captain Wayne Rooney will also not feature after being left at home alongside the likes of Luke Shaw and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

United were pre-warned about the condition of the pitch, with Rostov coach Ivan Daniliants admitting that it is a problem for both teams and suggesting that their opponents will no doubt be surprised after playing on what he described as an "ideal lawn" during their recent EFL Cup final defeat of Southampton at Wembley Stadium.

"We understand that it's not a decision of our club it's UEFA's decision to play the match. For sure we would like to play on better pitch like Wembley," he said in response to Mourinho's concerns yesterday.

"We understand that players can be injured. Football is a contact sport and maybe players get injured anyway on the best pitches with the best weather conditions. We would like to play on best fields but it's not our decision.

"It will be the same pitch for Rostov as Manchester United. Yes we understand that our rivals are not used to playing in a pitch of this condition, we could see that on TV at Wembley or Manchester. But it will be the same reality for us as them."

Mourinho also claimed to have voiced his concerns with a "gentleman from Uefa", only to allegedly be told that "the players are insured, so what happens to them is no problem."

Rostov agreed to train just behind the stadium earlier this week as part of a concerted effort to protect the surface which, as you can see in the picture above, is extremely worn.

"It is hard for me to believe that we are going to play on that field, if you can call it a field."

There is no doubt what topic has dominated the conversation ahead of this evening's Europa League last-16 first-leg meeting between FC Rostov and Manchester United in Russia, with a furious Jose Mourinho apoplectic regarding the sorry state of the pitch at the 15,840-capacity Olimp-2 Stadium.

Uefa conducted an inspection yesterday and confirmed that the match would indeed go ahead as planned. That is despite the Red Devils boss, whose team selection may well have been drastically altered as a result, claiming that the pitch is very similar to the one his side encountered in Beijing last summer when a pre-season friendly against Manchester City was farcically cancelled at the 11th hour.

We expect the self-proclaimed 'Special One' will have plenty more to say about the unfortunate pitch situation before tonight is through, particularly if the result goes against United or any of his players succumb to injury as a result.

Let's hope it does not have too much of an impact on the game itself...