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Full-time: United 4-0 Feyenoord
That could barely have gone better for United. An emphatic win lifts them to second in their group, meaning they only need to draw in their last match against Zorya Luhansk to progress. More than that, it was a fine attacking performance - at times sparkling. Their passing was snappy and their movement cunning. Rooney broke a record and Mkhitaryan made his big Old Trafford breakthrough. Everything looks a little rosier for Jose Mourinho. And I’m going to the pub, so everyone’s happy. Thanks for coming. Bye.
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GOAL! United 4-0 Feyenoord (Lingard 90+2)
They only needed two more minutes. And what a beautiful goal it was. Lingard curled a low shot into the net from the edge of the area - via the keeper’s outstretched hand and the inside of the right-hand post - and all after a marvellous one-touch passing move by United .
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90 min: United have at least three more minutes to get a fourth goal.
88 min: Shaw and Bacasikoglu clash as they jump for a header. Both go down looking sore, but bot get back up quickly. Brave Shaw.
86 min: Feyenoord are gamely seeking a consolation, but not getting close.
United substitution: Lingard on, Mkhitaryan off after an excellent performance, his breakthrough at United you could say. And, indeed, that is pretty much what the cheers from the crowd say.
83 min: Another mistakes by Jones eventually leads to another chance to United. But the keeper redeems himself by catching Rashford’s 18-yard shot. It wasn’t difficult, mind.
United substitution: Memphis on, Rooney off. So Rooney won’t be equalling Bobby Charlton’s record tonight - he’s still one behind But he did beat Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s European record for Untied today.
78 min: Feyenoord have become very disheveled. There could be more goals here for United. Ibrahimovic is visibly yearning for one, and Mkhitaryan is earning one.
Feyenoord substitution: Basacikoglu on, Toomstra off.
75 min: Just before that third goal, Robbie Savage was eulogising about Rooney’s role in the second. It was classic Savage punditry: “That pass from Rooney [to Mata], not many people in the world could have made that pass. Scholes could, Pirlo could, lots of people could but, em, er....”
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GOAL! United 3-0 Feyenoord (Jones og, 74)
Rashford threads a pass through to Ibrahimovic, who takes it to the byline and then tries to send a low pass towards Mkhitaryan. But it’s too close to the keeper. Not to worry, Jones unintentionally diverts it into his goal via the inside of this left foot.
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Feyenoord substitution: Kramer on, Jorgensen off.
United substitution: Rashford on, Mata off, having completed his goalscoring celebration.
GOAL! United 2-0 Feyenoord (Mata 68)
The Spaniard was about to be substituted but decided he needed a goal before leaving! It came courtesy of a brilliantly incisive exchanges of passes after Carrick had won the ball 30 yards from Feyenoord’s goal. He played it quickly to Ibrahimovic, who threaded it through to Rooney, who helped it into the path of Mata with a wicked reverse pass. And all Mata had to do was roll it into the net from nine yards. Quality.
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66 min: Pogba lopes 40 yards down the left, then turns in-field and unleashes a shot from 25 yards. Like his previous efforts it is a powerful swirler. And the keeper makes another save.
63 min: “I’m really liking this Mkhitaryan fellow!” cheers Thebo Mokaleng. “Where’d we pick him up? Seriously, he’s making it seem as if Mourinho’s the one with a problem for not playing him more. He is giving United a fresh new dimension. Hard to see how he’s ignored from here on in.” Maybe he wasn’t being ignored, he was being readied? And rather than exposing Moutinho’s folly, this performance is showing how well timed his introduction by the manager has been? Just a thought.
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61 min: Kuyt exists, replaced by Berghuis and booed by Unite fans, who haven’t forgotten that hat-trick he scored against them for Liverpool.
61 min: Ibrahimovic has a go from the edge of the area but his shot is blocked.
58 min: Mkhitaryan drives straight at the Feyenoord defence from midfield. He flips the ball off to Ibrahimovic as he approaches the box and then continues his dash and receives the return ball, only to be thwarted by a last-gasp tackle. It would be nice to see him score today, he’s brought real verve and directness to United’s attacking.
56 min: More bright play from United. They’ve been encouragingly lively for most of this match, full of movement, swift passing and good ideas. It’s exactly vintage stuff but it’s an improvement on a lot of what has gone on this season and even more so on the Van Gaal and Moyes staples.
54 min: Feyenoord reassert their attacking credentials ... and nearly get a shot on target, but Vilhema didn’t catch his volley right from the edge of the area, screwing it way wide.
52 min: Mata essays a beautiful lob from just outside the box and it very nearly comes off! Jones has to backpedal hastily to reach up and tip it over the bar.
50 min: What!?! Mkhitaryan made a brilliant run from midfield, past two players thanks to his own deft footwork and shimmying and a clever decoy run by Ibrahimovic. He beats the last defender Toomstra, and is clear on goal! Then h goes down, it looked like a blatant shove by Toomstra, but the ref thinks otherwise. Mkhitaryan was off-balance, it’s true, but it looked like a foul to me.
49 min: Dammers blocks a shot from Ibrahimovic. Mkhitaryan pounces on the breaking ball at the edge of the area and skips past one defender before his shot is also blocked.
48 min: Pogba aims a clever pass towards Rooney, lifting it over the last defender for the striker to chase. But he can’t chase as fast as he used to do, so can’t get to it before the keeper. “What do you mean the United glass is more than half full,” storms Bharat Tiwari. “Don’t pull the doilies from below our glasses, Paul! Agreed this isn’t quite the champagne yet, but we’re quite happy with what the Unlucky one is brewing for us. Agreed, there’s the occasional piece of grape stick in it, but we sure are salivating.” I can think of at least one United striker who heartily endorse that approach.
46 min: Feyenoord start the second half because United started the first. Fair is fair.
Here’s Matt Richman, whose glass is more than half full. “This may simply be a case of perception, but for a United fan now finally used to being flayed by the hopeless performances under Moyes followed by the merciless (though improved) doldrums under LVG, nights like this represent glimmering attacking football of the sort we had with Sir Alex. Those teams didn’t score every game, but the open play was wildly entertaining. What you call ‘stodgy spells’ I call relatively (operative word) rare lulls. This formation and a gloriously absent Fellaini are doing wonders for me.”
Half-time: United 1-0 Feyenoord
United deserved their lead, no question, and can be happy with the way it was taken - a cute finish by Rooney -, but Feyenoord have hinted at enough quality to suggest that a comeback is not out of the question. But if United retain their focus and keep their tempo high, they should complete the win.
45 min: Karsdorp miscues an intended pass to the keeper, sending it towards Ibrahimovic instead! He’s lucky that the Swede was taken by surprise and another defender was on hand to tidy up.
42 min: Kuyt pushes over Carrick on halfway, for old time’s sake. Freekick to United.
39 min: I’ve now seen a replay and can confirm that Rooney was onside for the goal. Or, er, maybe a millimetre offside. It’s hard to be sure. So benefit of the doubt to attacker, that’s how it should be.
38 min: Isn’t it funny how words or phrases that mean something completely innocent in one language can be very rude in another? A smattering of the Dutch visitors to Old Trafford have been singing “Fuck off Mourinho”, utterly oblivious to what that means in English.
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36 min: There are suggestions that Rooney was offside for that goal and that there may have been a foul in the buildup. I’ve not seen a conclusive replay but will get back you on that when I do.
GOAL! United 1-0 Feyenoord (Rooney 35)
Lovely move started by Rooney on the left wing and daintily finished by the same man in the box. He took a clever return pass from Ibrahimovic and dinked it over the advancing keeper from 10 yards. That was excellent and should be celebrated accordingly.
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30 min: That’s better from United! When they pass fast they make progress. A series of one-touch passes culminated in Pogba chipping a nice ball over the top to Mkhitaryan, who had again made a sly dash into the box. Oh, the flag’s up. Still, a positive move for United.
28 min: United have lapsed into one of those stodgy spells that have afflicted them too often this season.
25 min: Elia dances past Phil Jones on the left-hand side of the box and then pulls the ball back to Jorgensen, whose powerful shot from 14 yards is saved well by Romero. The rebound eventually comes to Kuyt, who hits it with his left foot first time on the swivel, whereupon Romero makes a quick-thinking save with his right foot, kicking the ball away as if shaking dog droppings off his boot. If either of those great chances had gone in, there’d have been a hell of a stink around Old Trafford.
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23 min: Pogba spanks a long ball rom inside his own half towards Mata, who is pushed to the ground by Nelom just outside the area. It’s a freekick alright but not to Mata, because he was offside.
20 min: A couple of panicky moments in the box for Feyenoord as United pile on the pressure. On both occasions a Dutch defender scrambled the ball away in the nick of time, once after Jones had saved a shot from Carrick. Mkhitaryan was instrumental in both alerts: he’s started very brightly.
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18 min: Shaw attacks down the left, then threads a little pass towards Mkhitaryan in the box. The latter knocks it back out to Pogba, who tries a blaster from 25 yards. It wobbles through the air at tremendous speed. The keeper gets both hands on it but doesn’t fancy trying to catch so pushes it over.
17 min: Their early vim having subsided, United are starting to meander a little. Feyenoord are looking increasingly confident, though not yet dangerous.
14 min: Blind tugs back Elia as Feyenoord try to launch a counter-attack. The freekick is given but no yellow card.
13 min: Pogba’s cross from the left is headed behind for a corner. Mata delivers an outswinger towards Carrick, but it’s headed clear.
11 min: For the first time in the match Feyenoord put a move together. They almost reached the United box. An indication, then, that they may be getting up to the speed that United have set. Let’s see how long they can sustain it.
9 min: Lovely interplay between Mkhitaryan and Rooney, who had taken up a central position, as United’s show no respect for static formations. The pair exchanged quick passes and clever passes to pick their way through the defence. It was a pity that the last pass from Rooney was inches too long, otherwise the Armenian could have crowned a nice move with a goalscoring return to the starting lineup.
6 min: Rooney has been operating mainly on the right so far. He’s only sporting a dense beard. Hope he’s got permission for that from The Sun and those other protectors of Team England’s good image.
4 min: Pogba opens fire from just outside the area. He’s a little off-balance, and the ball swerves way off target. But United have been totally on top in the opening minutes.
2 min: United are eager to apply maximum early pressure. They’re pouring forward. Valencia chips a cross into the danger zone, and Pogba outjumps the defender and tries to power a header goalward from seven yards. But he doesn’t catch it quite right and it loops over.
1 min: United kick off and show their attacking ambition straight away. Rooney floats a cross from the right towards the back post, where Ibrahimovic heads it across goal. It was fractionally too long or Mkhitaryan.
The teams present themselves for the pre-match formalities on the pitch. With Christmas just around the corner United are wearing Santa Claus colours - red shirt, white shorts and white stockings – while Feyenoord have plumped for all blue, a knowing nod to United’s city rivals, no doubt.
Mourinho, under interrogation by a man on the telly, has coughed up the following pre-match thoughts when asked whether this match could represent a new beginning for Mkhitaryan:
“I hope so. He’s woking really hard. It’s a bit difficult for him to adapt especially to the intensity and competitiveness of the Premier League. Some players have qualities that allow them to adapt more quickly than others but, especially mixed with an injury, it has been more difficult for him. But it’s a player that we know has a lot of talent. And playing in a very offensive team like today, with Michael Carrick as the only positional player, should be good for him.”
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Look! Henrikh Mkhitaryan must have been a good boy in training: he’s about to make only the second start of his Manchester United career, and his first since the Manchester derby more than two months ago.
United: Romero; Valencia, Jones, Blind, Shaw; Carrick, Pogba; Mata, Rooney, Mkhitaryan; Ibrahimovic.
Subs: De Gea, Rojo, Fellaini, Herrera, Lingard, Memphis, Rashford
Feyenoord: Jones; Karsdorp, Dammers, Van der Heijden, Nelom; Tapia, Kuyt, Vilhena, Toornstra, Jørgensen, Elia.
Subs: Hansson, Woudenberg, Nieuwkoop, Vejinovic, Berghuis, Basaçikoglu , Kramer.
Referee: M Gräfe (Germany)
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Preamble
Hello. The story so far: blue chip football operation Manchester United have got themselves into a mighty pickle. If there is one thing worse for the brand than fluthering around in the Europa League, it’s going full clobber to win the darn thing but flunking out at the group stages. That is the ignominy that will hit United like a custard pie if Feyenoord beat them again today, the Dutch having already done so in Rotterdam earlier in the group. Such an outcome does not seem likely, though: Feyenoord have some key enforced absences, especially in central defence, and United, for all their recent travails, including against Fenerbahce in their last outing in this tournament, have not lost any of their 13 European matches at Old Trafford since the retirement of Alex Ferguson. What is more, United showed encouraging signs of improvement in their last match, against Arsenal on Saturday, although, on the other hand, the fact that they failed to win that game could be seen as evidence that they remain saddled with a haplessness that is doing nothing for the rectitude of Jose Mourinho’s melon.
The manager said this week that restoring United to full power is a three-year job and, without ignoring his failings, you can see where he is coming from – the squad plainly needs work - but even he suggested there could be no excuse for defeat today (indeed, but chances are he could find one if necessary). A draw today could ultimately prove enough to get United into the next round, provided they beat Zorya Luhansk in their final game and Feyenoord do not beat Fenerbahce, but a victory, preferably thanks to a rousing performance, is what they really need to avoid a severe accumulation of stress and hot air over the days ahead. Let’s see how they go.
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