Club Brugge 0 United 4 (1-7 aggregate)
Scorers: Rooney 22', 49', 57', Herrera 63' | 26 August 2015 | Jan Breydel Stadium
Manchester
United will be among the names in the UEFA Champions League group-stage
draw after sealing a 4-0 win on the night and a 7-1 aggregate victory
against Club Brugge.
Wayne Rooney answered his doubters
in the press by scoring a clinical hat-trick in Belgium before Ander
Herrera notched his first goal of the season with another neat finish.
The play-off result means Louis van Gaal, the players and supporters can
now look forward to returning to Europe’s top table and a competition
that has been synonymous with the club since the reign of Sir Matt
Busby.
Louis van Gaal made two changes to his team by recalling
Michael Carrick in place of Bastian Schweinsteiger and starting Herrera
for the first time this season. Both men utilised their passing
abilities in the opening exchanges as the Reds controlled possession on a
pitch that had been heavily rained upon in Bruges, where the weather
was almost biblical leading up to the match.
Despite United’s
positive start at the Jan Breydel Stadium, named after a local butcher
who led a 13th-century uprising, it was the hosts who created the first
chance when Luke Shaw blocked Tom De Sutter’s low volley at the back
post, an effort that was more than enough to cheer a home crowd that had
provocatively sang along to Liverpool anthem
You’ll Never Walk Alone before kick-off.
The
Reds quickly silenced the home supporters, though, by breaking the
deadlock on 20 minutes as Memphis Depay, United's star in the first leg,
produced another moment of individual brilliance by dribbling in from
the left wing and cutting a neat pass inside for Rooney, who calmly
chipped a neat shot over the goalkeeper to score his first goal of the
season from around eight-yards.
Rooney’s opener meant Brugge
could only progress in normal time with a 4-1 victory and, although
their hopes were bleak, the home side showed tremendous spirit and
almost levelled when De Sutter forced a smart stop from Sergio Romero on
40 minutes, before the Argentinian goalkeeper brilliantly clawed the
ball away from the feet of Boli Bolingoli when he was played in moments
later. Memphis also had two efforts deflected wide to cap an intriguing
first half in Belgium.
HALF-TIME STATISTICS Possession: Club Brugge 38% United 62%
Shots: Club Brugge 5 United 11
Shots on target: Club Brugge 1 United 2
Corners: Club Brugge 1 United 2
The
second half began with Schweinsteiger replacing Januzaj in midfield and
the former Champions League winner with Bayern Munich quickly slotted
in alongside Carrick, perhaps with a view to regaining total control of
the tie. Van Gaal’s substitution paid immediate dividends as United
capitalised on a misplaced pass from Brugge to swiftly score on the
counter, as a more advanced Herrera slipped a neat pass inside for
Rooney to bag his second goal with the simplest of finishes.
It
was a disheartening restart for the home team and things went from bad
to worse for them when the captain claimed his hat-trick just minutes
later, by beating the offside trap and latching onto Mata’s intricate
pass to slot a low finish underneath the goalkeeper. It was his 36th
goal in European competitions and only Ruud van Nistelrooy has netted
more for the club, with 38 to his name.
United were running
amok by this point and the Reds were cutting through the Brugge defence
like a hot knife through butter, which led to Herrera scoring a fourth
with a neat composed finished from Schweinsteiger’s excellent
through-ball. The Spaniard then exited to an ovation from the travelling
Reds as Javier Hernandez entered the fray, hoping to add his own name
to the scoresheet.
Although Brugge hit the crossbar with an
powerful volley from Tuur Dierckx, this play-off tie was over midway
through the second half and the Reds should have scored a fifth from the
penalty spot on 80 minutes, when substitute Javier Hernandez slipped
and shot wide after Oscar Duarte was somewhat harshly penalised for
handball by the referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz, a Spanish PE
teacher.
Chicharito squandered another excellent opportunity to
open his account in the 90th minute when knocking over Ashley Young's
in-swinging cross, but the Mexican's miss did little to dampen United's
spirits following an extremely beneficial night in Bruges. All eyes are
now on Thursday's group stage draw in Monaco.
FULL-TIME STATISTICS Possession: Club Brugge 34% United 66%
Shots: Club Brugge 9 United 22
Shots on target: Club Brugge 1 United 7
Corners: Club Brugge 2 United 4
THE TEAMS
Club Brugge: Bolat,
De Fauw, Castelletto, Duarte, De Bock, Vormer, Claudemir, Vazquez
(Vanaken 62'), Diaby (Dierckx 63'), De Sutter, Bolingoli.
Subs not used: Bruzese, Meunier, Cools, De Smul, Oulare.
Booked: Claudemir, Vormer
United: Romero;
Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw; Carrick, Herrera (Hernandez 64'); Mata
(Young 62'), Januzaj (Schweinsteiger 45'), Memphis; Rooney.
Subs not used: Johnstone, McNair, Schneiderlin, Fellaini.
Booked: Herrera
POTENTIAL GROUP STAGE OPPONENTS
United will be in Pot 2 on Thursday and will be drawn against one team
from Pot 1, which includes big guns Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, FC
Porto, Arsenal, Manchester City, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen.
Read our detailed guide to learn who else the Reds can face.
MATCH REACTION Van Gaal:
"Every goal shall give confidence to every player and to Wayne. I am
very happy for him... He has the best mentality that you can imagine.
Such players of that level shall always come back."
Rooney:
"I know my qualities and what I bring to the team; even if the goals
don’t go in, I still bring a lot for my team-mates. Thankfully, I’ve got
chances tonight and taken them, but I wasn’t worried."
Herrera: "It’s
very important for a midfielder to score and help the team. My goal is
not the most important thing - it is that we’re in the draw and we can
bring Manchester United to where we deserve."
MAN OF THE MATCH
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Rooney later claimed our official Man of the
Match award after taking 80 per cent of votes cast on Twitter. Herrera
finished in second place while Memphis came third. Well played lads!
PLAYERS ON TWITTER @ChrisSmalling: Looking forward to the @ChampionsLeague draw tomorrow.
@LukeShaw23: Back where we belong, great hat-trick from @WayneRooney tonight! Thanks to the travelling fans, unreal like always."
@AnderHerrera: Looking forward to the draw, we are now where this club deserves to be. Very happy!
@JuanMata8: Back in the #ChampionsLeague! Happy for @WayneRooney and @AnderHerrera.
@Youngy18: Great performance, important we are in the draw. Special mention for @WayneRooney!
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