Manchester United strolled into the Europa League last 16 despite having Eric Bailly sent off after Henrikh Mkhitaryan's first-half goal secured a resounding 4-0 aggregate victory over St Etienne Wednesday. The only negatives in a comfortable win for United were injuries to Mkhitaryan and midfielder Michael Carrick, who could both miss Sunday's English League Cup final. United will be joined in the next round by Schalke 04, whose 1-1 draw in their last 32 second-leg tie with PAOK Salonika was enough to secure a 4-1 aggregate win, and FK Krasnodar who went through against Fenerbahce. Krasnodar drew 1-1 on the night to advance 2-1 on aggregate, with the remaining last-32 ties to be played Thursday. United manager Jose Mourinho played a strong side including Zlatan Ibrahimovic who scored a hat trick in last week's 3-0 win over the French side and it did not take them long to effectively kill off the tie. Juan Mata was given acres of space on the left side of the pitch and the Spaniard clipped a superb low cross into the box for Mkhitaryan to get in front of his marker and flick a low finish into the net. That left St Etienne needing five goals, a mountain they showed little inclination to climb even after Bailly was sent off in the 63rd minute after picking up two yellow cards in the space of three minutes for fouls on Romain Hamouma. Mkhitaryan departed with a hamstring problem and Carrick suffered a calf injury, meaning both are doubtful for Sunday's Wembley clash against Southampton. Schalke was in pole position against PAOK with a 3-0 first-leg lead and tightened their grip on the tie after 23 minutes when Alessandro Schoepf scored for the second game in succession. PAOK drew level two minutes later when Matija Nastasic diverted the ball into his own net, but there was no further drama as Schalke comfortably saw the game out. Krasnodar had won 1-0 at home against Fenerbahce and doubled the aggregate advantage when Fedor Smolov scored with the visitors' first shot of night after seven minutes, before Fenerbahce drew level when Brazilian Souza poked in after a goalmouth scramble. Rooney's agent in China Wayne Rooney's agent Paul Stretford held talks in China Thursday amid mounting speculation over the Manchester United captain's future, British media said. Rooney, 31, has been sidelined by manager Jose Mourinho heightening expectations he could leave United for the mega-rich Chinese Super League. Guangzhou Evergrande, Beijing Guoan, Jiangsu Suning and Tianjin Quanjian are said to be among those interested in United's all-time top scorer. British media have reported that he could earn up to $1 million a week, making him the world's best-paid player. However it remains unlikely that any move would be complete before the transfer window shuts next Tuesday. Rooney missed Wednesday's Europa League last-32 second leg in Saint-Etienne through injury, but dominated conversation in France. Mourinho said that Rooney's future was in his own hands in comments at his pre-match press conference that only fuelled the speculation. "You'll have to ask him," Mourinho said. Rooney's deal at Old Trafford runs until mid-2018, with United holding the option to extend it by a further year. A return to boyhood club Everton and move to Major League Soccer could be other avenues for Rooney, but are unlikely to offer wages anywhere near that available in China. Rooney has already announced plans to retire from international football after the next year's World Cup in Russia. — Agencies
