10 Things We Learned From Man Utd 3-1 Club Brugge
Memphis Depay might just be the real deal.
It was a triumphant return to European football for Manchester United on Tuesday as they survived an early scare to defeat Club Brugge 3-1 in the first leg of the 3rd round qualifier.
Marouane Fellaini popped up with a very late header to seal the win and with it Old Trafford breathed a collective sigh of relief.
To take a two-goal lead over to Belgium certainly helps, with the away goal looming over their heads.
Club Brugge will feel slightly hard done by, as Fellaini’s goal went in a minute after the injury time allotted. It looked as if the referee was going to blow his whistle but paused as Memphis whipped in the cross, almost as if he didn’t want to face the backlash had he not allowed the attack to happen. That late, late goal was so typical of United and so enjoyable for the fans to see again. It rounded off a very attractive attacking performance.
But there is still a lot for Louis van Gaal to ponder. Here are 10 things we learned from the match...
10. Memphis Is The Real Deal
The young Dutchman put in the kind of performance reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford, taking the game by the scruff of the neck. Although he still has a lot to learn and there are times when it feels he is a little greedy on the ball, this performance will have been extremely encouraging for United and LvG. The occasion didn’t seem to phase Memphis at all, with 2 excellent finishes right in to the corner of the net and a delicious cross for Fellaini’s header at the death.
He is the first to grab the ball for set-pieces, and it was exciting to see him hit a free-kick in a similar way to United’s last great number 7. Obviously it is very early days, but if he can stay injury free Manchester United look to have a real find in Memphis Depay.