AFP, France :
As Manchester United continue to battle on four fronts, wracking up too many air miles is proving a concern to manager Jose Mourinho.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the only goal of the game away to Saint Etienne on Wednesday after just 16 minutes, effectively killing off any suspense in the Europa League last 32 tie that the Red Devils won 4-0 on aggregate.
United would need to negotiate three more two-legged ties if they are to reach the final in Stockholm on May 24, but Mourinho’s biggest concern is over how far his team will have to travel,
given they will be playing twice a week most weeks to the end of the season with the battle for a top four finish in the Premier League sharing the spotlight with runs in three cup competitions.
Ideally, Mourinho would like a return to France.
“I’m used to difficult draws, sometimes I think some balls are cold and some balls are hot,” said Mourinho, cryptically.
“If I could choose, I would choose not to travel a lot because in the next (Europa League) round we have Chelsea (in the FA Cup) in between the two matches.
“We have Middlesbrough away after the second match, so if you give me something like (Russians) Krasnodar or some very far destination, I would prefer Lyon — two hours flight. I would prefer something close.”
