Brewin: Depay double inspires Man United (2024)

It was the Dutchman who hauled the hosts back as they rocked after Michael Carrick had unfortunately directed a Victor Vasquez free kick into his own net after eight minutes. That was the cue for Depay to grab this occasion by the scruff, when his team needed him to do.

First came the 13th-minute equaliser. Having controlled Carrick's fizzed pass, there were split seconds during Depay's burst through the Brugge defence when he looked to have over-deliberated, only for him to unleash a drive beyond goalkeeper Sebastien Bruzzese.

Depay had previously looked overeager in a United shirt, amid the high standards he sets himself. The haste with which he hauled the ball from the net and ran it back to the halfway line after his equaliser showed a noticeable lack of triumphalism after an undoubted big moment for a young player.

Personal glory could wait, though he could have been more selfish when choosing to pass rather than shoot when one-on-one with Bruzzese. United could hardly afford to pass up such chances, though Depay made swift amends. Even better than the first, his second slashed into the top corner.

Yet with Brugge breached and blushes spared, United never moved into the gear required to blast away from their opponents and make next Wednesday in Belgium a sightseeing trip.

Fellaini's stoppage-time goal, celebrated with glee after the Belgian had been booed for his Anderlecht connections, gave United a respectability they barely deserved. It was Depay's raking cross with seconds remaining that created it, another clutch moment to make Depay the match winner.

Elsewhere, Wayne Rooney's loss of form once again stood out. For a player granted two key roles -- those of sole striker and the captain's armband -- he does not look remotely tuned up.

Perhaps the passing of the weeks will sharpen Rooney, but this was an occasion that had surely been on Old Trafford minds since United finished fourth in May and a qualifier was made necessary.

Depay had clearly grasped its importance. Rooney and co can be thankful to him.

2. Another methodical victory

The Champions League anthem played as a familiar friend returned to Old Trafford. A lack of European football had hollowed out United's 2014-15 season as continental football under Manchester floodlights, a tradition since Matt Busby's Babes began the club's adventures in the old European Cup in the 1950s, was lost amid barren midweeks.

The playoff round was the bare minimum achievement from last season, a campaign of rebuilding and growing pains. Meanwhile, despite two Premier League wins so far this new season, United are still a distance from looking worthy of lofty ambitions in this competition.

Reaching the quarterfinals, the point at which they exited to Bayern Munich in their sole season under David Moyes, would represent some achievement if this display is any guide.

Absence for even a single season at this level can leave a club -- even one the size of United -- having to play catch-up with the continent's elite. In any case, only four of Tuesday's starters survived from that 2013-14 campaign: Rooney, Carrick, Adnan Januzaj and Chris Smalling.

And this never quite felt like one of those fabled European nights of yore. Perhaps by dint of it being mid-August, and almost certainly through their team grinding through the gears, the home support was distinctly subdued.

How long United fans can put up with a style of football that bears the watermark of Van Gaal's desire for total control may become a burning question because this is a squad that burns with talent, yet plays within tight constraints.

Carrick and Morgan Schneiderlein, a partnership broken up at half-time when the former was replaced by Bastian Schweinsteiger, looked at distinct cross purposes. The freedom of expression with which Sir Alex Ferguson's teams once conquered Europe was noticeably absent.

A sole moment of improvisation came on the counter in the second half, when Luke Shaw, having stopped an attack, burned to the byline down the right. A Rooney flick, his best touch of the match, found Depay, but the chance for a hat trick was denied by a high and hurried finish.

United's new hero had betrayed his rawness. At that point, nerves were rather jangling. Fellaini's intervention smoothed them off.

3. Brugge fight hard but fall away

The Belgian fans at Old Trafford were boisterous and bouncing. There were more than 3,000 of them and they mixed Flemish invective and accented English as they sang terrace anthems familiar to the Premier League.

"Are you watching, Anderlecht," they bellowed once they had their early lead. Liverpool anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" was also aired, to predictable disquiet from the home fans.

Timmy Simons, the 39-year-old veteran who played for Belgium at the 2002 World Cup, sat in an anchor role five yards ahead of his defenders, and was frequent company for Januzaj in the United man's No. 10 role.

That United's second goal came moments after Simons' withdrawal with injury was little coincidence. Brugge's organiser had gone and Depay powered through a defence that had lost its shape.

The intelligent movement of Barcelona graduate Vasquez, as well as Ruud Vormer, became less troublesome for the hosts as the night drew on and especially after Schweinsteiger added poise to United's midfield beyond half-time.

There was also the sense that Brugge coach Michel Preud'homme was happy to protect that early away goal, though some hesitation from United goalkeeper Sergio Romero and what looked a theatrical dive from the Argentine denied Obbi Oulare an equalizer.

Losing Brandon Mechele to a second bookable offence robbed Brugge of momentum for the last minutes, and substitute Fellaini extended the advantage.

However, the atmosphere will undoubtedly be intimidating in Bruges eight nights from now and United still have a dangerous opponent to survive.